The Voice of Reason
by MLP Mike
Summary: An experiment at Horizon Labs gets out of hand and it's up to Peter Parker and Felicia Hardy to set things straight. Set in the TMR Universe. (COMPLETE)
1. Part I

**Part I of The Voice of Reason. Beta-ed by Swan Parker**

**Spoilers ahead. Set in the same universe as, "The Mask of Responsibility". After chapter 43.**

* * *

"So what would you do if I was a zombie?"

Peter was in the process of munching on a cracker, but stopped when he heard the question. He looked to his girlfriend

"What?" He said through a mouthful of cracker.

"If I was a zombie," Felicia stirred at her soup with a spoon. "Would you kill me?"

Peter sat back in his desk chair, looking at his blank computer screen like the answer would be written across the desktop. Felicia's hypothetical questions never really seemed to stop. She always had something hidden up her sleeve that would catch him by surprise.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "It depends really."

Felicia raised her spoon to her lips and slurped up the soup from the utensil. She was currently sitting cross-legged on Peter's desk, having dropped by Horizon Labs to share his lunch.

"What does it depend on?"

"On a lot of things," Peter exhaled heavily and brushed his hair off his forehead. It was getting long again. "Is there a cure? Are you a fast zombie or a slow one? Are you even trying to kill me?"

She tapped the spoon against her chin, raising her eyes to the ceiling and biting her bottom lip.

"No cure, I'm trying to eat you, and I'm just a regular zombie."

"I'd kill you." He said simply, reaching for his drink. Peter took a long draft and when he lowered his cup, he saw Felicia glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "What?" He huffed, rolling his eyes.

"You'd _kill _me?!" She asked, incredulously.

"Yeah I would," He made his fingers into a gun and mimed shooting her. "Blam, right between the eyes."

"That's messed up."

"How? I know you'd kill me."

Felicia opened her mouth to disagree, but paused. Would she kill Peter if she had to? When he was possessed by the Venom, she hadn't had a problem knocking him around a bit, but this scenario was different. The Venom transformation was reversible, temporary. What if Peter was gone forever? Could she end his life to protect herself?

"Yeah." She lied. "I would."

"Why can't you ask any normal questions," Peter rotated his chair slightly and allowed Felicia to kick her feet up and rest them across his lap. "Like, Felicia, what's your favorite movie?"

"O.C. Babes and the Slasher of Zombie Town," She answered instantly, smirking as he grimaced in obvious distaste. "What about you?"

"Uh," He thought for a moment, while he played idly with the laces of her boots. "I like a lot of movies. It's kind of hard to pick a favorite."

"That's why," She thumped him on the head with her spoon. "Your questions suck and mine rule. It's easy to answer the hard questions, but hard to answer the easy questions."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes it does. Like my zombie question, for example. You answered that one quickly, but you can't even answer the movie one. The more complex the question is, the simpler the answer is."

Peter groaned and slouched in his chair, waving her away with a limp hand.

"Go away Felicia, you're making my head hurt. I thought lunch was supposed to be relaxing."

"You're just too easily stressed." She leapt lightly from the desk and positioned herself behind him, kneading his shoulders with firm fingers. "How's your side feeling?"

Peter put a hand to his shirt, gingerly touching the bandage beneath that covered his stab wound. Doctor Nguyen had done a good job patching him up, and paired with his advanced healing factor, it wouldn't be long until nothing remained of his injury but an ugly scar. He shivered, remembering the feeling of the metal pipe sliding in between his ribs and ripping at his flesh. Getting impaled would not go down as one of his proudest moments.

Felicia sensed his anxiety and cooed softly in his ear. She was getting good at reading his emotions. Pretty soon he wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. It was yet to be known whether that would be a good thing or not.

"I'm alright," He answered finally, brushing her off. "I mean, my side is fine."

"That's good," She spun his chair around so that they face each other. "Because you have another ten minutes of break," Slowly, Felicia climbed into his lap to straddle him. "And I intend to make the most of it."

The chair squeaked in protest, but neither of the two occupants paid it any attention. It wouldn't be the first time that this particular piece of furniture had been abused like this. It would however, be the last.

The entire planet seemed to suddenly shake up and down violently. The desk chair toppled onto its side, spilling Peter and Felicia onto the rug. Pictures rattled loudly against the wall and Felicia's abandoned bowl of soup danced off the desk to join them on the floor. Peter rolled over Felicia and used his body to pin her to the floor, simultaneously protecting her from any falling debris. The tremors continued for about a minute before slowly decreasing in amplitude, eventually petering out.

"Well," Peter said, lifting his head and examining the room. "That happened."

He promptly went back to nibbling on Felicia's neck, causing her to gasp

"Peter!" She writhed beneath him. "That didn't seem like a normal earthquake. We need to," Felicia bit her lip as he worked his way down to her collar bone. "Investigate."

"Maybe later," He mumbled against her skin. "I'm sort of busy right now."

Felicia wanted to protest, but she felt her resolve slowly slipping. He was still covering her, smothering any of her attempts to resist. There was something off about the tremors, she was positive about that. They needed to get out into the city, help anyone who was hurt, and find out the source. But...

She smiled at the familiar zip of her leather jacket being undone. Spider-Man wasn't the only source of aid for the possibly injured. What are emergency services for, if not for emergencies? Would it really hurt if Spider-Man was a little late to the party? Her hands started tugging at his shirt, un-tucking it from his pants. Would it hurt if Spider-Man was _really_ late?

The door to Peter's office opened with a click and Carl the security guard poked his head inside.

"Break it up kiddos," He called to them. "Peter, Mr. Modell needs our help."

Both Peter and Felicia were forced to shift their focus away from each other and towards the newcomer. Not many words could be used to describe the stare they gave Carl. Let's just say that the security guard was lucky that looks can't kill.

"Alright," Peter growled, rising to his knees. "Give us a second will you?"

Carl nodded and shut the door again. Peter sighed and looked down at his girlfriend, still sprawled on the carpet, but now breathing heavily.

"Rain check?" He offered.

Felicia only nodded, too upset or too flustered for words. Peter bounced to his feet and helped to woman to her feet. He set his chair back up and straightened a few books that had fallen askew, as she zipped up her jacket again with a shaking hand.

"Do you think Modell knows something about the quake?" Felicia asked, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. This had become a common action for her, often using it to combat whatever the female version of "blue balls" is. Sometimes having a superhero for a boyfriend, who could be called upon at any inopportune moment, was a real pain in the ass.

"I don't know," Peter answered. "He probably just wants some help cleaning up the lab. You should go home," He nodded at her. "Make sure the apartment isn't completely wrecked."

"Not a chance. If I'm right, and this quake is more than it seems, you're going to be right in the middle of the action." She brushed her fingers through her short dark hair. "I know where I belong, Peter and that's right next to you."

"That's cute," Peter opened the door to his office again. "You should write that down."

"Har, har'" Felicia smirked as she brushed past him and out into the hall. "One of us has to be the sweet one."

"I just never thought it would be you." Peter muttered under his breath, following Carl as the guard led him and his girlfriend deeper into Horizon Labs.

* * *

The first thing Peter noticed was that they weren't heading towards Modell's lab, but several floors down to Debra Whitman's workstation. A tingle along the back of his neck seemed to grow more prominent as he watched the numbers tick down on the elevator display. Something was definitely not right.

"We shouldn't be taking the lift," Felicia voiced suddenly. "If there was an earthquake, we should take the stairs right?"

Carl shot Peter a look, rolling his eyes and nudging his co-worker in the side. Peter grimaced as the beefy man's arm brushed his wound.

"Not to worry girlie," Carl drawled, leaning against the wall. "All of Horizon Labs is built to withstand a nuclear explosion. It'll take more than a few shakes to put a dent in this baby."

Peter felt Felicia bristle at the '_girlie'_ comment and coughed loudly to draw attention to himself.

"Did Modell say why he needed us?" He asked.

"Nope," Carl popped his "p" loudly. "I got a message on my pager, saying something about a big emergency, utmost discretion, terrible danger, blah, blah, blah."

Peter and Felicia shared a look. Her hypothesis had been correct, but was there really any doubt? Trouble seemed to follow Peter Parker like some kind of virus, infecting his daily life and spreading to his companions.

"Utmost discretion," Peter repeated. "Were you even supposed to tell me about it?"

"Uh, I think so?"

The elevator doors opened with a ding and all hell broke loose. An explosion of wind burst through the open doors, whipping back their hair and nearly sucking them off their feet. Peter grabbed Felicia's hand to keep her upright and charged into Debra's laboratory with her in tow.

Random documents, folders, and even a few smaller pieces of equipment, flipped through the air, carried aloft by some unexplained current. Max Modell and Debra Whitman were running around the floor, shouting to each other of the wind and typing furiously into several different consoles. They looked like a couple of human pinball's, bouncing around in some twisted arcade machine.

"Modell!" Peter shouted. "What the hell is going on?!"

The lead scientist stopped his rushing and turned on the new voice, glaring at the new comers.

"Parker, what in god's name are you doing here?" Modell made his way over to security guard, his lab coat flipping wildly in an attempt to trip him up. "Carl I told you to come alone!"

"You did no such thing!" Carl exclaimed. "You said to _'come help' _and when someone needs help around here they usual ask for Peter."

"Why can't you ever just follow instructions?!"

"Psshh, you aren't my boss."

"Carl!" Modell grabbed the other man by the collar and shook him. "I _am_ your boss!"

"Stop it both of you!" Debra dashed forward to separate the pair. "Peter is here now and we could use his help," She caught sight of Felicia then. "But who are you?"

"I'm the girlfriend." Introduced Felicia, throwing her hands on to her hips.

"Girlfriend!" Modell cried, throwing his hands in the air. "The last thing we need is a civilian getting in the way."

"Everyone calm down!" Peter silenced the group. "What's going on, Modell? Tell me now."

"See for yourself." It was Debra who spoke as she gestured to the center of the room.

All eyes followed her pointed finger and Peter, Felicia and Carl froze in confusion. There was basically a pit in the center of the room, dark, gaping, and apparently the source of the torrential wind. Every so often, bright purple sparks would erupt from the hole and burn out mid-air. Peter's spider-sense kicked up another notch.

"And what is that?" Peter asked, moving in between Felicia and the hole.

"Maybe I should start at the beginning." Debra turned to Modell.

"Yes, but hurry up. We're running out of time." He nodded.

"Alright, well let's see. For the last year I've been working on my own personal hadron-collider." Debra explained. "That was my secret project. For those in the room who don't know, a hadron-collider is a machine that is used to slam protons together, generating a massive amount of energy. Through my experiments, I seemed to have created the stable conditions needed to contain the energy. However, when we tested it just now…" She gestured again towards the hole.

"Yes, but what is it?" Peter demanded again.

"It might… Possibly be…. Maybe," Debra closed her eyes. "A portal to an alternate demission."

There was silence for a moment. No one spoke except the giant hole in the center of the room, which howled at them through the wind.

"I call bullshit." Felicia finally said.

"Watch your mouth," Modell snapped, as he started to pace. "Although I wish Ms. Whitman was wrong, all of our data is telling us that there is in fact a large amount of matter on the other side of the portal. It could only be another dimension."

"Of course!" Peter huffed. "What _else_ could it possibly be!?"

"Wh- wait- what do we do?" Carl shifted his weight uneasily. "This shouldn't have happened right?"

"No it shouldn't have," Modell continued. "And now our entire universe is at risk. Two parts of space and time that shouldn't have ever touched are now being pressed together. Everything we know is at risk of crumbling before our very eyes!"

The scientist was getting frantic, shouting and flinging his arms about like a lunatic. Felicia grabbed Peter's arm and dragged him aside.

"You don't believe any of this right?" She hissed in his ear. "These people are obviously unstable."

"I don't know." Peter responded honestly. "I trust Modell, if he says that this is dangerous then it probably is. I mean," he nodded at the pit. "Seeing is believing, right?"

"Well what are you going to do?"

"Whatever they need me to do," He stepped away from his girlfriend and addressed the group at large. "Uh- so what happens now?"

"Well," Debra pushed her glasses further up her nose. "When the portal first opened, the hadron-collider fell down into it. According to my readings, the collider was damaged upon arrival in the other dimension." She looked to Peter. "Basically, we need you to go get it and bring it back. Once we activate it again here, the portal should close."

"No, screw that. Peter is _not_ going in there." Felicia stared down Debra.

The scientist met her gaze evenly and responded quickly.

"You heard Maxwell, if we don't get the collider back then everything crumbles like a dry biscuit."

"Well why don't you go get it yourself? Peter has responsibilities, he can't just risk his life for every little problem you people have."

Debra opened her mouth to snap back, but Modell stepped in.

"First off, don't call me Maxwell." He began. "And secondly, Peter, Debra, and I will be the ones to enter the portal."

All eyes turned as one again, this time to fix on him and the blood drained from Debra's face.

"What? Why me?" She retreated, as if putting more distance between herself and her boss could prevent her from being nominated again.

"Because Miss Whitman, you said it yourself. The collider is still transmitting to us, but it is damaged. We don't know how much though. If Peter tries to move it, he could worsen the damage and the effects of the collider could be rendered irreversible." He pointed at her with a stiff finger. "It's your invention Debra. You're the only one who can make sure it can be repaired." He turned to Peter. "We don't know what's going to be on the other side and a good pair of eyes and some muscle will be needed to move the collider." Finally he pounded a fist against his chest. "And you're all my employees, so if you're going to risk you lives 'dimension jumping' then it's going to be under my supervision."

"Alright," Peter clapped his hands together, before starting to loosen his tie. "Let's get to it."

"Whoa hold up, Peter isn't going anywhere without me." Felicia stepped forward.

"You're not coming." Both Peter and Modell said in unison.

"Traveling dimensions has never been done before and despite some personal research on the topic, not much of anything is known about it." Modell explained. "The less people we have going through the better."

"Basically it's dangerous," Peter rested a hand on his mate's shoulder. "Why don't you sit this one out?"

She slapped his hand away.

"Like that's going to happen. You're planning on running into the unknown with a couple of wimpy scientists, a malfunctioning device with the power to rip apart entire universes, and absolutely no back-up. Peter Parker you're about as stupid as it gets." Felicia grabbed onto his arm and dug her nails into his bicep. "I'm coming and there's nothing you can do about it."

There was something Peter could do about it. He could web Felicia to the wall with a few bio-cables and deal with the fallout after the whole of existence wasn't in jeopardy. She would understandably be pissed and he would have revealed his secret identity to even _more _people, but at least she would be safe.

"I can't be responsible." Peter stated plainly.

"I've heard about it," She scoffed. "And I don't need you to be." Felicia addressed the scientist. "I can take care of myself and more muscle isn't going to hurt you."

"Fine!" Modell shrugged off his lab coat, balled it up, and threw it into the corner. "Everyone get ready to travel!"

"Wait, what about me?" Carl asked, having stood off to the side for the majority of the conversation.

"You're the security guard Carl, we need you to stay here and _guard_ the portal while we're away." Modell gave Carl a hard stare. "Are you up to that?"

"Of course," The husky security guard snapped his hand to his forehead in a salute. "You can count on me. No one is going anywhere near this thing while you guys are gone."

"Speaking of which," Peter chimed in. "How long will we be gone?"

"The collider should be just on the other side. We should be able to grab it, make sure that it hasn't fallen completely apart, and then jump back." Modell checked his watch. "As I said before, dimension travel has never been done before who knows what the effects might be. The research I've done has all been strictly theoretical."

"Alright," Peter nudged Felicia with an elbow. "Stay close okay."

"Always." She nudged back.

Peter looked around the windswept room, wondering if there was anything he should take. His web shooters were worn under his sleeves, just like always. His suit, on the other hand, was currently locked in a steel suitcase, inside of his locked messenger bag, inside of his locked office. He doubted that Spider-Man would be needed for this particular job and honestly he didn't think he had the patience or the time to retrieve his costume.

He watched Debra fasten up her lab coat to her neck, Modell performing some stretches that caused his back to crack alarmingly, and Felicia check something in her boot, probably a throwing knife or something equally threatening.

_This should be easy, right? _He thought to himself. _After all we're just gonna jump in and jump back out. Piece of cake. No reason to be stressed in the least._

But as Peter stepped up to the lip of the portal, he knew that he was wrong. The dark pit seemed to stretch down into the depths of hell. There was no light, save for the random purple sparks. It was a black abyss ready to swallow up the group. His spider-sense hadn't let up since they had entered the lab, but as Felicia laced her fingers with his, the sense of danger didn't feel quite as threatening.

_I want Felicia to be safe, but honestly I'm glad she's here._

He squeezed her hand as Modell spoke.

"On three," He cried over the wind, louder than ever before. "One… Two… Three!"

They leapt.

* * *

**Well here we are my friends, at the beginning of a brand new spin-off! I sure am excited, don't know about you guys. **

**This story is a little more "out-there" than my other stuff, with extra sci-fi elements and such. ****It's a little weird and quirky, but it's an idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a long time and I hope you guys like it.**

**Big shout-out to Swan Parker for being the first person to read this chapter and being my unofficial Beta. She's one cool lady.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**- Mike**


	2. Part II

**Part II of The Voice of Reason. Beta-ed by Swan Parker. Thanks to jasonmatthews940436, Dragonskyt, Tregun, and Marvel11611 for reviewing.**

* * *

Peter could hear something over the wind, a loud screeching sound. He looked to his left and the source of the noise, to find that Debra was screaming her head off. He was about to tell her to quite down, simply because the noise was starting to give him a headache, when her screams suddenly stopped. Everything was quite, even the wind had ceased. There was nothing, no sound, no light, just an inky blackness that seemed to surround him on all sides.

It reminded him of his time under the influence of the Venom. The dreams that the symbiote had induced were just as dark and heavy, although now he couldn't feel the reedy voice of the creature in the back of his mind. Still it was close enough to cause him anxiety and he sought out Felicia in the blackness.

There was something to his right, a source of heat. He squeezed her hand again, the one she had been holding, but her fingers were not longer in his grip. The heat was beckoning to him and he tried to move towards it, first by walking and then by running. But his legs didn't seem to respond. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even feel his legs and for a moment, wondered if they had been severed somehow.

_This really sucks._

A sense of panic washed over him. Something had gone wrong with the portal or Modell had been incorrect. He was stuck here, suspended in perpetual blackness and dismembered from the waist down. There was nothing around except the heat to his right, which had moved neither closer or further away. Peter wished he was closer to the heat, that he could touch it and feel its warmth.

For the time being it was the only tangible thing in his new world and he wanted nothing more than to interact with it. Slowly, very slowly, he felt the heat grow and wash over him like a wave of ocean water.

The headache caused by Debra's screams grew into a full blow migraine and this time it was Peter who cried out. He saw something, flashes of light and sound. There was a man's face, then a woman's.

_Felicia?_

No it wasn't his girlfriend. The woman was much older with a rounder face and softer eyes, not to mention, longer hair. She was pretty and Peter felt safe with this woman, until she was whisked away as quickly as she had arrived.

There was a fire. No, not a fire, there was only a small flame.

_Candles I guess, on a birthday cake? Whose birthday? What is this?_

The man reappeared, urging Peter to blow out the candles and grinning widely. It took a minute, but Peter recognized the man as Walter Hardy. Although much younger and with a tenderness that was not present the one time Peter had actually seen the man.

_Memories, _Peter realized. _But not mine, Felicia's? How is this possible?_

Another flash and Peter was standing in front of a classroom, reading some report and wearing an ugly dress. He watched as the teacher sneered at him and questioned whether or not he had actually read the assignment. Peter didn't know if he had or not, but his mouth moved of its own accord, answering no, no he hadn't.

Peter was being woken up and taken into the kitchen, where Walter proceeded to coach him through cauterizing a bullet wound. Apparently his father was some kind of criminal, and Peter was shocked to realize this. Walter Hardy screamed as Peter pressed a hot knife against his arm. Peter closed his eyes and realized that he was crying.

There was more wind, but this time it was only an echo. It was memory of wind running through his hair as he ran across a rooftop. Walter Hardy was in front of him yet again. This time urging him to run faster and jump further, training him to be something that he didn't necessarily want to be.

He was in midtown high again, slouching in a desk in the back of the classroom. Doctor Connors was at the front of the class teaching something that Peter wasn't listening to. The bell had already rung, but the door opened anyway. A skinny boy with shaggy hair slid into the room and Peter recognized it as himself almost instantly. He kept his eyes focused on the younger Peter as he bounced to his seat and sat next to an equally young Harry Osborn. There was another flash and Peter was pulled away.

His heart clenched as he saw Spider-Man get stabbed with a street sign. Hot rage boiled under his skin as he wheeled on Venom and lunged, claws outstretched. Tears clouded his vision as he slashed, punched and kicked the monster that had potentially killed the person he loved.

_Loved?_

Peter had always known Felicia had loved him. But he had never felt the true force of her devotion until now, through her own eyes. Peter's chest burned as he fought Venom once again, and just as Electro arrived to save the day, everything vanished.

Peter was back in the dimensional tunnel and the heat was still touching him, although now drifting to his left. He had passed through it and come out the other side, though not without gaining some interesting new memories along the way.

He reached out for Felicia again, but there was nothing. His surroundings were just as empty and devoid of light as before. Peter almost missed the visions of Felicia's past. At least that had been sort of entertaining.

He was starting to consider trying to mix with the strange heat again, when a harsh light blossomed in front of him. He tried to move his arm to shield his eyes, but that didn't seem to work. Either he didn't have any arms or he didn't have any eyes, and neither thought brought him any comfort.

The light rushed up to meet him and suddenly everything was white. They had arrived on the other side.

* * *

The first thing that Peter felt was the floor, the glorious, wonderful floor. Its cold surface pressed against his face and reminded him of what it felt to be alive. His instincts screamed at him to get up and secure the area, but nothing was more appealing than just lying on the nice sold floor for a just a few more minutes. When he got back to his own world, Peter would add dimension jumping to his list of least favorite things.

"Alright, get up!" Modell was shouting. "Everyone up!"

His voice sounded far away. Faint, like they were trying to talk underwater. Peter's confusion only grew when he heard his own voice respond.

"Okay! Stop kicking me dammit!" Peter snarled.

However, it wasn't actually him who had responded.

_That's… weird._

He _couldn't_ have spoken because his mouth was still pressed against the ground in worship and he sure didn't feel anyone kicking him. With what felt like a supreme amount of effort, Peter raised his head and searched for the source of his own voice. Debra was lying in a heap nearby, obviously still alive, as she uttered a tiny whimper every few moments. Modell was already standing and huddling over a familiar looking body.

"Felicia."

As soon as the word passed Peter's lips, he all but knew what must have happened. Panic clutched at his heart.

_Oh no, this is a dream. This all has to be a dream._

But it wasn't, this room with its bright florescent lights, stale filtered air, and beautiful floor was the most realistic place he'd been since leaving Horizon labs. Whatever was happening was undeniably real. Peter stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping and falling again. Everything felt slow to him, like he had been medicated or drugged. And as he looked down at himself, all of his fears were confirmed.

"Felicia! Max! Something is wrong! Something is very, very wrong!" He examined every inch of his body that he could see.

"What?! What is it?!" Modell turned to face him, concern flashing across his face. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm… I," Peter patted himself down, pushing against the unfamiliar body. "I'm a girl!"

"Obviously," Modell moved away from him and went to help Debra. "We don't have time for this. We need to find the collider."

"Peter."

His own voice spoke again against his will, and Peter looked towards the sound to find that the body Modell had been standing over was now upright. Yet more importantly, he was now suddenly face to face with himself.

"You aren't a girl," Felicia glared at him, as if this was his fault. "You're _me_."

"But then you're… I'm… how?" Peter reached out and poked his own face, only for Felicia to slap his hand away.

"Keep your hands to yourself." She chided, rubbing at where she had been prodded.

"No!" Peter screamed, backpedalling away from Felicia. "Max you need to fix this!"

"Fix what?!" Modell cried, pulling Debra to her feet. "Tell me what's wrong!"

"We… Felicia and I- we…"

"We switched bodies in the dimensional tunnel." Felicia stepped forward, making up for her boyfriend's inability to make a coherent statement.

Modell froze on the spot and loosened his grip on Debra, allowing the woman to crumple to the floor again with a squeal. He ignored her though and advanced on the couple, examining them closely through his glasses.

"That's not possible." He muttered, glancing between the both of them quickly.

The woman that used to be Felicia looked completely frantic, on the edge of a breakdown, while the man who resembled Peter looked relatively calm and actually smirked at Modell.

"It is possible!" Peter shrieked in a voice much higher pitched than usual. "And it happened and you need to fix it!"

"I don't know…" Modell trailed off.

"I don't see why you're overacting so much." Felicia inspected Peter's body. "Do you always feel this… good? I mean, if feel-" She flexed and Peter's shirt ripped up the back. "Oh."

"Oh!" Peter repeated flabbergasted. "Did you really just say '_oh_'? Felicia this is serious, you need to be careful with…" Peter looked to Modell and Debra, before leaning in to whisper in his own ear. "Be careful with my _abilities_."

"Don't be such a worry wart, I know that." Felicia brushed him off, turning to Modell. "So you don't know how this could have happened?"

"Well," Modell began. "It's always possible I guess. I don't know. Like I said before, travel between dimensions has never happed before."

"But how do we fix this?!" Peter cried, pleading to his boss. "We need to set things straight right now!"

"If we go back through the tunnel," Modell held up his hands to placate him. "It should reverse the effects, but like I keep telling you, I don't know for sure."

"Let's go. Let's go back, right now." Peter grabbed Felicia's hand. "Come on."

It was then that he noticed that the portal was gone.

"It's gone? Where's the hole?" He wheeled on Modell and Debra. "Where is it?!"

Debra, who had finally managed to get shakily to her feet, answered his cries.

"It's closed on this side, but probably still open on the other." She adjusted her glasses. "If we activate the collider here, it should reopen this side as well."

"Is that a good idea though?" Modell questioned. "Activating the device is what started this whole mess, doing it again here, and then once more on the other side, might be too much."

"Well that's all I've got!" Debra threw her hands in the air. "I don't see anyone coming up with any more ideas."

"If your plan gets us home, in our respective bodies, then we're doing it." Peter put a hand to his forehead, as if checking for a fever. "Where's the collider?"

"I was just wondering that, I don't see it-"

"Whoa!"

All eyes turned to Felicia when she called out, cutting off Debra. The woman in the man's body held her hand up, silencing the group.

"What is it?" Peter hissed.

"Do you guys hear that?"

The other party members exchanged a glance before collectively shaking their head, no. There was a moment of silence as everyone kept their eyes fixed on Felicia. Everyone was rattled, the body switch, the disappearing portal, the missing collider, it all contributed to their paranoia.

"Get down!" Felicia suddenly screamed and she lunged at Peter, knocking him to the floor.

Peter twisted in the air and landed flat on his face. His re-attachment to the holy ground was a lot more painful than he had expected.

_Ow! What the hell? _Then he remembered. _Oh yeah, I have boobs…_

Peter Parker had mixed feelings about this.

Felicia positioned herself above him, shielding him from whatever it was that had sent her spider-sense ablaze. The source of the danger proved to be a projectile that soared overhead and collided with the ground a few yards away from where the couple was huddled.

There was a feminine scream and a small explosion that sounded more like a buzzing of electricity than an actual fireball. Peter tried to rise, but Felicia forced him back down, before jumping to her feet herself. The hero instinct was hot in her veins and she charged in the direction of where the shot had originated.

An odd looking security drone was standing in an open doorway, firing on the occupants of the room. Horizon Labs was not known for its high tech security measures, so the appearance of the robot surprised Felicia almost as much as the day's earlier events. There were only two reasons for the drone's existence. In this dimension Horizon Labs had either beefed up their security, or Horizon Labs was no longer Horizon Labs. A small logo on the robot's chest confirmed her theory.

_Peter's not going to like this. _

Speaking of things Peter wouldn't like, Felicia pushed off the ground and kicked the robot squarely in the chest. She was adapting to Peter's powers pretty well, already getting a grasp on the strength at her disposal. The robot folded in half as it was flung back through the doorway from which it had appeared. A loud _crunch_ was heard when it landed and Felicia followed, crouching low in the hallway.

The drone that she had kicked was already getting back to its feet, with at least half a dozen others were making their way towards the laboratory, filling the corridor in front of her. They were being surrounded, deemed intruders by the facilities security. Felicia didn't plan on letting her or Peter get captured anytime soon, so she would have to fight them off. Needless to say, Felicia was beyond excited to put her new powers to the test.

The nearest drone shot at her again, firing a blue beam of light in her direction. Her spider-sense buzzed and she flipped forward, attacking the security drones head-on.

* * *

Peter sat up and cast around for the rest of the group. Felicia had disappeared from the lab and was fighting robots in the hallway, while Modell and Debra lay in a pile together a few yards off. Whatever projectile Felicia had saved him from must had struck them instead.

He got unsteadily to his feet, wobbling over to his co-workers and falling to his knees. The body that his mind currently inhabited was aching like crazy, only frustrating him more with their predicament. Peter couldn't remember the last time he had been without his powers. His senses were dulled and his movements slowed, even blinking seemed to take forever.

A loud crash from outside brought him from his brooding and he forced himself to focus. Quickly inspecting Modell and Debra, he was relieved to find them alive, if knocked out cold. The security drones seemed to be responding to their presence with non-lethal attacks.

_At least that's a blessing._ He thought. _But now what?_

The noise from the hallway was deafening and Peter winced as the sound of screeching metal reached his ears. His first thought was to go and help, but he seriously doubted that he could be of much aid. Peter looked at his hands, or Felicia's hands. They were smaller than his, with slimmer fingers and longer nails. He had seen them in action, punching, slashing, grabbing. Felicia had always been good with her hands, but now that they were under his control, they were borderline useless. He was useless.

It wasn't a good feeling. Being powerless was something that Peter hadn't minded letting go of once he had received his powers. Spider-Man had always been apart of him and now, without his abilities, he felt incomplete. Peter felt like crying.

_Stupid girl hormones!_

Peter jumped to his feet, he needed to act.

The collider was no where to be found. Either they had been wrong about where it would be or someone had moved it. With both of the scientists unconscious, there was little they could do with the device if it was here anyways. Peter decided that his best course of action would be to retreat and regroup.

He stooped down, grabbing Debra under the armpits and hefting her from the floor. Whitman was heavier than he had expected and he stumbled slightly, before adjusting his grip. There didn't seem to be any other exits from the laboratory and Felicia was currently occupying the only. Peter set his sights on a stack of crates near a corner and started hauling the unconscious woman across the floor.

There was another loud noise from the hallway, this time a scream. Peter snapped his head up to watch himself come flying in from the hallway. Felicia skidded across the laboratory floor and came to a rest at Peter's feet.

"Ow." Was all she said, looking up at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, continuing to work on moving Debra. Chances were that she was, Peter's body is a little bit more durable than the average Joe's.

"Yeah," She bounced to her feet. "Peter, there's too many. Someone was expecting us."

"Maybe," He grunted, as Debra started to slip from his grip. "I think our number one priority should be getting some place safe."

"Agreed."

Another laser bolt struck the ground next to them and a fluffy of sparks danced before their eyes. The security drones were advancing, pushing each other to get into the room and get a clear shot at the intruders. Felicia leapt in front of Peter and raised her arms. Peter's suit may have been left in his office, but he had always made a habit of wearing his web-shooters at all times. Hopefully, that habit would pay off.

"How do you use these?"

"What?"

"Web-shooters, Peter, how do you use them?"

"Two fingers, center of your… my, palm."

There was a sharp _crack_ and a soft hiss.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh?"

She pressed her fingers to her palm again, only to be rewarded with another hiss.

"I think I broke it."

"Dammit!" Peter dropped Debra heavily and dashed over to Felicia, grabbing her wrist. "Are you serious?! Do you know how long it took me to make these?"

"You told me to press two fingers!"

"You're supposed to press a button, not crush the life out of it."

Another laser bolt whizzed by. Peter examined the bots, there were a lot, too many to deal with, too many to fight.

Felicia wrapped her fingers around Peter's arm.

"We got to go."

"Grab Max," He pointed. "If we're fast, maybe we can slip past them.

"No Peter," She tightened her grip. "_We_ have to go."

"Not without them, Debra is the only one who can fix the-"

"I know Peter, but the collider isn't here now and neither should we. The robots aren't going to kill them. We'll come back for them later."

"No, we can't-"

She interrupted him again, this time by grabbing him around the waist and slinging him up onto her back. Peter had never been manhandled like this before, and spent a few precious seconds spluttering insults. Felicia ignored him though and raised her remaining web-shooter. With a gentler touch, a bio-cable erupted from her wrist and connected with the ceiling.

Immediately the tension started tugging at her arm, threatening to pull them into the air. She resisted the pull though and waited for the opportune moment to act. The majority of the security drones had made it into the laboratory and were now charging their lasers, ready to thwart any escape attempts. As the nearest one fired on them, Felicia launched them into the air.

They flew high, and fast, much faster than she had anticipated. The ceiling came down to meet them and they crashed into it. Most of the impact was absorbed by Felicia, though a shock did reverberate though Peter's bones.

"What was that?!" He cried as, Felicia scrambled to get a grip on the smooth surface.

Her new adhesive finger tips clung to the ceiling and they hung there, dangling over the crowd of robots.

"Shove it, Spider." Felicia snapped. "This is harder than it looks."

"Well give me my body back."

"I would if I could."

The drones rotated their heads, searching for their evasive quarry. As Felicia and Peter came back into their sights, they trained their weapons on them. Peter nudged Felicia with his elbow.

"We got to move, shoot a web by the door." He pointed with a free hand, while keeping a good grip on his girlfriend. Felicia complied, aiming her web-shooter and squeezing down on the trigger again. The bio-cable stuck to wall next to the door and they were pulled away once again. "Land feet first!"

"I know!"

Felicia hit the ground running. Peter clung to her back desperately as she charged down the hallway, away from laboratory and the security drones within.

"Those robots," She called over her back as she ran. "Do you think they are Smythe's?"

"I don't know. It's possible."

A laser bolt flew over Peter's shoulder, announcing that the security drones were giving chase. Felicia turned a corner and spotted what looked like an elevator ahead of them. She lunged forward and smacked a fist against the button, the lift opened, and they ducked quickly inside, dodging a last attempt by the drones to capture them.

The doors slid shut and Peter slid from Felicia's back and slumped against the wall. Felicia, meanwhile, examined the elevator display, selecting the ground floor as their destination. The lift rose and for the moment they were safe, although most certainly not sound. Modell and Debra were captured, Peter and Felicia had switched bodies, and the collider was no where to be found. Not to mention that they were being hunted by robots. Things were looking grim and as Peter looked to Felicia, he saw his own misgivings reflected in her eyes.

"Did you see it?" She asked, biting her lip.

Peter grimaced at her. He really didn't like seeing Felicia's personal habits and ticks being displayed on his body. Next thing he knew, she'd be putting on skirts and makeup.

"See what?"

"The logo, all the robots had it."

Peter closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah I saw it."

"What do you think it means."

"It means," He sighed. "It means that things are different here, more than we expected. We need to go back for Max and Debra."

"We will, but right now we should regroup." She offered him a hand and once he took it, she pulled him to his feet. "Just like you said, we need to get safe. Neither of us is thinking clearly, but we need to start. Our lives depend on it."

Peter glanced at the console. They were getting closer to the ground floor, rising from the depths of the facility. He didn't know what to expect when the doors would open again. Was it possible that they could just escape without facing too much of a resistance? Then there was the little problem about where they could go once they _had_ escaped. From what Peter knew about science fiction, alternate dimensions were basically a one to one representation of their counterparts. Could there be another Peter here? Another Spider-Man? In all honesty, he really didn't want to find out. Things were strange enough as they were.

The doors would open again soon. Felicia positioned herself in front of Peter, deciding that now that _she_ was the one with powers, it was up to her to be the protector. She needn't have worried though, because once the doors opened there were no security drones waiting for them with stun guns. In fact, there was absolutely no resistance at all, save for a large lobby bustling with people.

Taking Felicia's hand, Peter pushed his way through the crowd. Most of them were dressed in business attire, while a few sported lab coats and more casual clothes. These were employees going about their day, taking care of business, and they paid no attention to the odd couple.

"There," Peter pointed to a set of doors. "Let's get out of here."

With a final shove, they broke free of the mass and fled through the doors and out into the city.

* * *

**Shout out to Swan Parker once again for being my unofficial beta. Isn't she a lovely lady.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**- Mike**


	3. Part III

**Part III of The Voice of Reason. Thanks to Dragonskyt, Tregun (Is that like Tregun and Sara?), jasonmatthews940436, 777-Dizzy, and ERoc901 Tha Clean Up Man for reviewing.**

* * *

Peter was beyond pleased to find that the city where he grew up was relatively unchanged. There were the same towering skyscrapers, same bustling streets, and the same terrible traffic. Felicia grabbed onto his arm as he started to wobble once more into the street, saving him being flattened by an oncoming truck.

"What's wrong with you?" She snapped, linking their arms so that he could walk in a straight line.

"_What's wrong with me?" _He repeated incredulously. "It's your legs that won't seem to work and another thing," He shifted their limbs so that he now cradled her arm. "There, that's better."

"No," She shifted it back. "That looks weird."

"Well this _feels_ weirder."

"You're being a real baby about this, you know that?" Felicia spotted a familiar diner. "Let's catch our breath in here."

They ducked into the small restaurant and searched for an empty booth.

"What I don't get," He said, as the slid into their seats. "Is why you're so calm about all this."

She shrugged and lounged back on her side of the table.

"I'm just more adaptable than you are."

"That's not true. You nagged at me for weeks when I painted the apartment."

"That's because you picked a terrible color. Aquamarine Peter, Really?"

"It was blue!" He threw his hands in the air. "I don't even know what aquamarine is."

"Well then maybe you next time you shouldn't-"

"Hello there!" the sudden appearance of a waitress caused them both to jump. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Uh, sure. Just coffee," Peter quickly dismissed the waitress and turned back to Felicia. "Look, we can argue about pointless stuff later, right now we need to go rescue Max and Debra, and fix," he motioned between them. "This."

"Well I don't think we're going to get very far with a rescue mission in our current state," Felicia rubbed the back of her neck. "We should find a way to switch back."

The waitress came back with the drinks and set them on the table. She smiled at Felicia and shot her a wink, before swaggering away. Felicia only stared after her, puzzled, while Peter took a big gulp of coffee, wishing that it was something much stronger and possibly intoxicating. He slammed his mug back down, drawing her attention back to him.

"Connors." He said.

"What?"

"Connors," He repeated. "Doctor Curtis Connors."

"The Lizard? What about him?"

"He's a biologist. He studied genetics and crossbreeds and such. He might know something about mind melding, or whatever it's called."

"What are you suggesting?" Felicia took a sip from her cup. "That we look him up and try to get him to fix this? Peter, things are different here. Your friend might not even exist."

"Things _are_ different, but a lot of stuff is the same. This diner and that waitress," He pointed to their server, now currently bustling around another table. "She was in my Calculus class freshman year at ESU. If she's here then maybe so is Connors."

Felicia thought for a moment.

"Do you think there's another _us_ running around?"

"I don't know, and I don't really care to find out." He downed the rest of his coffee quickly. "So are we agreed? Can we try Connors and see if he can help?"

"Sure," Felicia stood up and Peter followed, patting at his pockets. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"We need to pay. You wouldn't happen to have any cash on you, would you?" He shoved a hand down his jeans pockets. "Damn, why do you have to wear skinny jeans? These are really tight."

"They're just girl jeans, Peter."

"What's that supposed to mean? Girls can wear normal jeans. Why are the pockets so small too?"

"Because, they're girl-"

"Jeans, yeah I get it." Peter pulled a wad of money from what used to be Felicia's jeans. "What is this?"

He flicked through the bills, counting a hefty sum of money.

"It's just, my consignment pay." Felicia snatched it from his hand and threw a few smaller bills on the table.

"Consignment pay," Peter mimicked, keeping his eyes on the cash. "Felicia, you've been _shopping _again?"

"Oh don't look so betrayed," She took his arm and led him towards the door. "A girl needs her hobbies. I get antsy when you're at work all day."

"That's it, when we get back: you're getting a real job."

"Sure." She rolled her eyes as they set off down the street. "We'll see."

* * *

Debra Whitman opened her eyes, only to snap them shut again. Harsh light had slithered between her lids and momentarily burned her retinas, causing bright purple splotches to flash across her vision. She had a massive headache and a terrible pain in her shoulder. It was honestly too much for the delicate scientist and she had the sudden desire to just roll up and die.

"Sit them up." Said a voice, soft and cruel.

Rough hands gripped Debra's forearms and hauled her into the sitting position. She was propped up against some surface, a wall or something, and the voice spoke again.

"Why aren't they moving? Are they dead?"

"Hmm… no sir," Said a second someone. "They're most definitely alive."

Another hand on her shoulder shook her none too gently and Debra forced her eyes open again. She was, in fact, leaning against a wall. Modell was on her left, slumped onto her shoulder and snoring lightly.

"Hello there," There was a snapping noise. "Wakey, wakey."

She blinked the final blinding effects of the light from her eyes and looked up to see a man leering over her.

"Uh," Debra tried to formulate words. "Hi."

"_Hi_, indeed." Her host said. "Do you know who I am?"

Debra forced her head to bob up and down, as of course she knew who this man was, every self respecting scientist with a high school degree knew who this man was. He was an innovator, an inventor, and above all certifiably insane.

"Norman Osborn." Debra croaked, her throat sore from screaming earlier.

"Good," Osborn nodded. "Very good. Now, do you know where you are?"

Upon arrival Debra had assumed that the group had been dropped in Horizon Labs, another version, but Horizon Labs none the less. However, the different architecture, the emblem plastered on the wall, and the man standing before her, all led her to a new and correct conclusion. She was in Oscorp, trapped in a storage room with her boss, Osborn, and about a dozen armed men. Without a friendly face, nor means of escape in sight, Debra started to cry.

"Hey," Norman Osborn snapped at her again. "Stay with us girl. Do you know where you are?"

"Os- Oscorp." She gasped, attempting to reign in her runaway tears.

"Correct, once again. Now tell me who you are and how you managed to get in, along with," Osborn stepped to the side and gestured with a sweep of his arm. "_This_."

Debra followed his motion and her eyes came to rest on the hadron-collider. She gasped once she saw her invention, half out of relief and half out of disappointment. By the looks of the device, it wasn't too damaged, but then again it was now under Osborn's possession and out of her reach. The collider wasn't too big, essentially a meter tall cylinder with a domed head. If she and Modell could escape, it was possible that they could carry it to safety.

She looked to Osborn again and found him still glaring at her, expecting an answer to his question. Debra swallowed. She would only have one chance at this.

"Listen to me," She began, her voice wavering only slightly. "I'm part of a very special team, a team that came here today to save the universe. It is very important that you let me and my friends go free, along with that device." She nodded to the collider.

"Oh really," Osborn sneered. "You expect me to believe that you're on some mission to save the universe? That's funny, because last time I checked the universe was perfectly fine and if it was in danger it most certainly wouldn't seek aid from a sniveling girl and a weak old man."

"We're from an alternate dimension," Blurted Debra. "I've created a tear in the space time continuum and if we don't close it up soon, everything we know will implode."

"I think I've had about enough of this." A man standing off to the side suddenly stepped forward. His voice was husky and a long lasso hung from his belt. "What should we do with them boss?"

"For now nothing," Osborn turned from Debra and the still sleeping Modell. "We can leave them here for the time being, but I want that," He pointed to the collider. "Moved back into the laboratory floor."

"Sure thing, I'll have Ox take it now."

"No Montana, get some other grunts to do it. I have a different job for you, Ox, and Daniel."

"Actually sir, I prefer Fancy Dan." Said Fancy Dan, from his position against the far wall.

"I could care less what you prefer." Snapped Osborn. "As long as you do what you're hired for."

"And what would that be?" Montana asked. "You called us here, now what do you want?"

Osborn cast a look back at the two scientists, before motioning for Montana to follow him. Debra watched as they, her invention, and all of the guards disappeared, locking her in Modell in the room alone.

"Listen up," Osborn said, once they were alone. "Those people in there are only half of the _team_ that some how infiltrated my facility. A man and a woman somehow managed to escape the drones and are now loose in the city. I need you to find them and bring them here through any means necessary. Use traffic cameras, satellite imaging, blood hounds, I don't care. Just get after them."

Montana nodded and looked to his comrades.

"No problem boss. The Enforcers are on the case. If you don't mind me asking though, what's that fancy machine that those folks brought with them?" Montana indicated the collider which was now being carried away by a few Oscorp Employees.

"I honestly don't have the slightest clue," Osborn muttered. "It just showed up in the lab out of nowhere. We were just taking it to be examined when those people appeared as well."

"That's really weird boss," Spoke up Ox for the first time. "Don't you think that maybe that scientist lady might have been telling the truth about that alternate dimension stuff?"

"Oh my dear Ox." Osborn shook his head and patted the massive man's forearm lightly. "You've never been big in the brains department, have you? Alternate Dimensions are the stuff of fairy tales, my dear boy, nothing more. Now," He clasped his hands behind his back. "I believe I gave you an assignment."

* * *

Peter and Felicia took a bus towards where the Connors house was supposed to be. Walking would have taken too much time and Peter did not trust Felicia to web-swing them there, especially with only one web-shooter left. On the short ride there, Peter fumed silently over his lost equipment. It was Doctor Connors's bio-cables that he had first stolen for his web-shooters and it was also Connors who had given the devices an upgrade after he had deduced Peter's identity.

_He was the first._ Peter realized._ The first in a long list of people who know that I'm Spider-man._ He cast a glance at Felicia. _Or was Spider-Man... Connors has always been there for me, hopefully now won't be any different._

A warm wave of nostalgia washed over Peter after he and Felicia disembarked from the bus and found the Connors's Family home intact. The last time he had seen it, the place had been completely destroyed by Venom and the Lizard.

_The Lizard._

Peter missed his old friend dearly. Connors had been his favorite teacher in high school and after Peter had gradated, Connors had taken on a slightly different role, almost a fatherly one. When thinking of trustworthy people, Connors was at the top of Peter's list. Although now, the good doctor was currently trapped in his Lizard form, getting three square meals a day on Riker's Island.

_That'll change soon old friend. When I get home, I'm going to get you out of there if it kills me._

As they walked up the front path, Peter had to resist the skipping ahead and knocking on the door. That would be most definitely "uncool". Every step seemed to take ages though, as the possibility of seeing the human Doctor Connors drew closer.

Suddenly Felicia shot her hand out and gripped Peter's elbow.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, tugging away from her.

"Oh sorry, I'm still getting used to the whole super-strength thing." Felicia chuckled and Peter set off again, only to be stopped once more.

"What? What is it?" Peter wriggled in her grasp again.

"Maybe I should be the once to knock." Felicia reasoned. "He should recognize your face." She poked her own cheek.

"I don't know." he glanced at the door. "I- I guess."

"It seems logical to me." She grabbed his hand. "Just let me do the talking, okay?

As Peter was pulled forward, he didn't know what disturbed him more: That Felicia was going to be the one to meet with his friend or that She was the one doing the talking.

"Well what are you going to tell him?"

"The truth, of course." She jabbed a finger into the door bell and they listened as it rang inside the house.

They stood silently on the front step, allowing the suspense to boil up and over in their metaphorical pot. Soon enough, there was the sound of footsteps, clicking of locks, and the door swung open. Peter gave an audible groan. It was Connors, that was for sure, but not the one he was familiar with.

"Yo." said Curtis Connors, leaning against the door frame. He was dressed in a simple t-shirt, a pair of boxers, and… that's about it.

"Uh…" Felicia was off to a good start. "We, uh, need your help?"

She said it more as a question than an actual demand. Peter and Felicia exchanged quick glances, this Connors didn't look like the scientist type, but then again, first impressions are deceiving.

"With what?" asked Connors, crossing his arms. "Did Ted send you?

"Ted? No, don't you recognize me Doc?" Felicia spread her arms wide.

"Nope." Connors squinted at her.

"I'm Peter," She did a twirl. "Peter Parker."

"Nope, sorry buddy, that name doesn't ring a bell." He stepped back and made to close the door. "If you'll excuse me."

"No!" Felicia caught the door and held it open. "We need your help Connors, just give us five minutes of your time.

"I'm- sorry!" Connors struggled to shut the door. "But I can't help, leave me alone."

"Connors," Peter leaned around Felicia. "Just listen for one second."

"No, go away." He threw his weight behind the door. "I'll- I'll call the police."

Felicia turned to Peter and frowned at him as she kept a firm grip on the door.

"Sorry, Babe." She said. "I tried talking." Then she pushed back with some force and flung Connors backwards into the main hallway.

"Felicia!" Peter shoved past her and knelt next to the man. "Doc, are you alright?"

"Help!" Connors screamed, scrambling backwards. "Intruders!"

"No, no Connors, we're your friends." Peter kept close to him. "We're from another dimension!"

That managed to give Connors some pause, either because of the sudden outburst or the absurd explanation. He blinked up at Peter for a second, his eyebrows twisting up in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"We," Peter gestured to him and Felicia, who stepped into the house and shut the door. "Came from a different dimension and we need your help."

"Yeah I got that part, but seriously… what?"

"Come on Peter," Felicia sighed. "We're wasting our time here."

"Peter," Connor repeated, looking between the two of them and eventually pointing at Felicia. "I thought your name was Peter."

"This is what we need your help with," Peter stood up and positioned himself next to his girlfriend. "On the way to this dimension, we switched bodies."

Connors got to his feet slowly, examining the pair in front of him. It was ridiculous, of course, completely impossible for anything like alternate dimensions to exist. They were pulling some kind of prank on him, a trick. But then as he looked at them, he started to break into a small smile.

There was something about the woman. She had unreadable blue eyes, a grim frown, and a hunched stance. Then there was the man, with his cold dark eyes, slight smirk, and overall more feminine posture. They were an odd pair, but just how truly odd they were, was yet to be decided.

"You said you're friends of mine." Connors cocked his head. "I assume you mean in this '_alternate dimension_.'"

"Yes!" Peter stepped forward, sensing a breakthrough. "We're very good friends. We've worked together a lot in the past, and right now we need you to switch us back."

"I don't see how." Connors scratched at his chin. "What do you want me to do?"

"I… Well," Peter thought for a second. "You're a biologist, you should know about this stuff, right?"

There was another pause, and then Connors exploded into a fit laughter. He shook his head back and forth, clutching at his side, and wheezing with mirth. As his head turned, Peter caught sight of something that made his stomach clench up: a ponytail.

"Oh man," Connors wiped at his eyes. "You think I'm a biologist?"

"You are." Felicia snapped, growing increasingly annoyed.

"No I'm not, I'm a botanist."

"And what's that?" Felicia turned to Peter as he groaned again.

"A botanist," Peter explained "Is a scientist who studies plants."

"Well what's the point of that?" Felicia wheeled on Connors. "You're completely useless!"

"Whoa there, man." He held up his hands. "No need to be hurtful. I never said I could help."

"What about Martha?" Peter jumped in. "She's done scientific work too."

"Martha? Who's Martha?"

"Your wife."

Connors blinked once more, but instead of laughing, he just looked confused.

"I don't have a wife. I ride solo, sugar."

"First off!" Peter cried. "Don't ever call me 'sugar', I'm still a dude! And Secondly… Felicia? What are you doing?"

Felicia had suddenly lunged past Connors, and Peter watched as she dashed to the closet situated under the stairs.

"Whoa, man. Don't open that!" Connors reached for her, but it was too late. Felicia threw the door open and reveled a row of small plants underneath a bright artificial sun.

"I knew it!" Felicia shrieked. "I could smell it from outside. You're growing dope!"

"Hey man!" Connors slammed the door shut on his precious home project. "That's private stuff!"

"I cannot believe this!" Felicia threw her hands in the air and turned to Peter. "Your friend isn't a scientist. He's a pant-less, ponytailed, hippie, who sits around getting blazed all day!"

"Whoa!" Connors fondled his hair. "It's called a _stallion-tail_."

"I don't give a damn what it's called!" Felicia roared. "It's stupid and you're stupid and we're-"

"Felicia, calm down." Peter put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's just get out of here."

She looked like she wanted to berate Connors some more, but Peter guided her towards the door. He was a little more than disappointed. His ace in the hole had proven to be completely useless.

_Felicia could smell the drugs?_ Peter mused. _Interesting, maybe my Spider powers have more use than I know. It's kind of surprising how much I took my powers for granted.__  
_  
"Hold on a second." They stopped as Connors called after them. "You guys won't rat on me to the cops, will you?" Peter felt Felicia turn in his grip, most likely going back to rip Connors a new one. He held fast though and pushed her towards the door. The faster they got out of this disappointing place, the better.

"Wait, wait." He called for them once more. "I know someone who might be able to help you." It was Peter who faltered this time, considering the truth in Connors's words. Felicia took on the role of shepherding him away though, and threw the door open.

"His name is Otto Octavius, we went to school together. He was super into sci-fi shit, maybe you've heard of him. He's like a scientist now." At the first mention of Octavius, Peter had frozen stock still. Not even Felicia could budge him. Slowly Peter turned his head, glaring at Connors over his shoulder.

"Is that so?" Peter muttered, thinking fast. "Where can I find him?"

* * *

"If you aren't comfortable with this, then why are we here?"

It was a good question, and it took Peter a moment to answer his girlfriend.

"Octavius was one of the smartest men in the world before his accident. Imagine if it never happened. What if Octavius is a good guy?"

They were standing outside another house, this time it was the one listed under the address Connors had given them. It was deeper into the city than they had expected, nestled in between two giant office buildings like a nut between two molars. Small and inconspicuous, it was nothing like Peter expected the great scientist's house to appear.

"Yeah, but what if he isn't a good guy? What if he's worse?"

Peter looked to Felicia. She was shifting uncomfortably, rubbing at the back of her neck, and scanning their surroundings.

"You're spider-sense is acting up isn't it?" He guessed.

"It's driving me crazy, how the hell do you turn this thing off?" She scratched at her neck furiously, as if she could rub away the sixth sense.

"You don't," He smirked. "But don't worry. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be back in our own bodies in no time."

"'According to plan'," Felicia hissed under her breath as Peter led the way towards the front door. "That will be the day.

He beat Felicia to the door this time, cracking his knuckles against the hard wood of the front door. There was a single second of silence then a panel next to the door slid to the side and Peter jumped back when a robotic eye poked out through the hole.

"What the…?"

The eye rotated in its metal socket, taking a good look at the two visitors. Abruptly the cybernetic eye retreated and a voice boomed out from a hidden speaker.

"Who approaches?" The voice demanded.

"Someone's a fan of the Wizard of Oz." Felicia whispered in Peter's ear and he brushed her away.

"Hello," He called towards the door, making sure to speak clearly. "Is this the home of Otto Octavius?"

"It might be," The voice responded. "Identify yourself."

"Uh, my name is… Felicia."

"And I'm Peter!" Felicia interjected. "Peter's my name!"

"Don't over do it." Peter hissed to her, before turning back towards the door. "If you're Octavius, we need your help. It's very important."

A full minute passed and Peter began to worry that the speaker had abandoned them, but suddenly the voice crackled to life again.

"What kind of help do you need? I'm a very busy man you know and I don't work for free."

"Of course not, we just wanted to ask," Peter leaned closer to the door. "What do you know about… alternate dimensions?"

* * *

"This is fantastic!" Otto Octavius pranced about Peter and Felicia with a ridiculous grin on his face. "I always suspected that we weren't alone in the universe, but I never expected that _I_ would be chosen to aid inter-dimensional travelers!"

"Oh yeah?" Felicia winced as Octavius poked at her forehead with a finger. "Well believe me buddy: I didn't see this coming either."

They were in the doctor's kitchen. Peter and Felicia were sitting on the kitchen table, being furiously examined by Octavius. Apparently it had been an exaggeration when Connors had described Octavius's interest in the Science Fiction. All it had taken was for Peter to mention their predicament, before they had been ushered inside.

"You must tell me," The doctor pulled a tongue depressor from his pocket and moved over to Peter. "This hadron-collider, how does it generate the momentum needed to perform particle collisions?" He poked at Peter's lips with the depressor. "Open wide young lady, and say 'Aw'."

Peter grimaced as the popsicle stick was pressed against his tongue.

"I don't know, I didn't invent the collider." He mumbled around the intrusion. "And I thought we told you: I'm not a _lady_ and she isn't a man. We need you to set things straight Octavius."

"Yes, of course, of course." Octavius stepped away from Peter. "Happy to help." He clapped his hands together and smiled once more. "But tell me, what is it like, the alternate dimension? Am I there? How many patents do I have? I know that between universes, there are constants and aberrations. If you could make a list of things that you've noticed are the same and different that would be absolutely splendid!"

"No!" Peter growled at him. "No lists and no explanations. We've already told you too much and we're on a tight schedule. We need to work fast."

"He's right," Felicia hopped off of the table. "Let's get to it. You said you could fix us?"

"Well yes," Octavius nodded, feeling more than a little disappointed that his questions were not to be answered. "I don't keep my big toys in my house, not enough space. I have a personal laboratory set up approximately four kilometers away from our current location. Everything I'll need will be there."

"Alright," Peter shrugged Felicia's jacket back over his borrowed torso. "Do you have a car or should we-"

He was interrupted by a loud _crash_. The group turned as one to see a wall disintegrate in front of their very eyes. Octavius shrieked in fear and Felicia tackled Peter, flattening him to the ground once again. As the dust settled, a hole now led from the kitchen to the backyard, revealing the source of the disturbance.

"Good work Ox," Said Montana stepping around his associate and drawing his lasso. "Alright Gentlemen and Lady, listen up because I'm only going to say this once." He removed his Stetson and swatted some of the dust out of the air, before perching it back on his head. "It's come to our attention that you've broken the law, our law. Therefore, we're bringing you in. Say hello to The Enforcers."

_Great, this is just what we needed: more theatrics._

"I'm not a _lady_." Peter mumbled against the floor and pushed against Felicia.

She rolled off of him and bounced to her feet, taking up a fighter's stance.

"Alright boys," She warned. "I'm giving you once chance to turn around and go back to wherever it is you came from."

"Oh really?" Montana led the Enforcers further into the home. "I'm having trouble thinking of a reason to take that chance."

"Stay back. You don't know who you're dealing with."

"We know enough. Enforcers, attack!"

As soon as the words left Montana's mouth, Felicia was off the ground. She launched herself forward and fired a bio-cable. Her aim was still off though and the shot went wild, splattering against the floor. Montana swung his lasso and missed Felicia by inches, allowing her to continue on her trajectory unimpeded.

She collided with Ox, taking the mountain man to the ground with her. Peter heard the scuffle and rolled onto his back, just in time to see a boot coming down towards his face. He rolled once more out of the way and sprung to his feet. His speed was by no means as impressive as it had once been, but it would have to be enough.

He sought out his attacker and found Fancy Dan advancing on him. Dan was shorter than him, probably an entire foot beneath the top of his head. However, this Enforcer made up in speed what he lacked in size, bolting forward and swinging at Peter with a barrage of karate chops and kicks.

Peter did his best, he really did, but Fancy Dan was just too skilled. Peter parried one swipe and tried to counter with his own, only to miss his target and receive a blow to his side for his trouble. It was painful, not to mention frustrating. For what seemed like the billionth time that day, Peter yearned for his old powers.

Felicia was having an all together better time taking on both Montana and Ox. The big man made a grab for her, but she flipped out of the way and ducked under another lasso attempt. There wasn't much space to maneuver in the kitchen, but she didn't want to risk taking the fight out into the street and loosing sight of Peter. If they were separated now, there was no way they would ever make it back to their own dimension.

She pounced on Montana and lifted him off the ground with a quick uppercut. Ox saw an opening and swung his enormous fist, smiling in triumph when his strike impacted on her back. The smile vanished though, when Felicia didn't as much as stumble under the abuse. She had been right before: The Enforcers really didn't have any idea about her stolen abilities.

Performing a spinning kick, Felicia knocked Ox away from her. The Enforcer stumbled back, destroying the kitchen table as he fell. She landed in a crouch and quickly scanned the room, finding Peter attempting to fend off Fancy Dan across the room.

Closing the distance, Felicia fired another bio-cable, this time with better aim. The web snagged Fancy Dan's hand and with a sharp tug, Felicia sent him flipping over her shoulder. She winced, despite herself, when she heard him reconnect with the earth with a harsh _crunch_. All of her sympathy evaporated though when she saw Peter fall to the ground.

"Hey," She descended upon him. "You alright?"

"I- this," He gasped. "Getting punched really hurts."

She laughed and hauled him to his feet.

"Not enjoying being one of us mere mortals, huh?"

"No it sucks, _hard_. Where's Octavius?"

Felicia cast around for the doctor and found him curled up in the fetal position near the corner. She dragged Peter with her and the pair joined Octavius.

"You alright?" She prodded him with her toe. He nodded once and Felicia grabbed the back of his shirt, picking him up off the floor. "Good, because we got to move."

As Felicia tugged the group away, Peter looked back to see Ox and the rest of the Enforcers rising to their feet. Felicia could have taken them if she didn't have the Peter and Octavius to look after. If anything happened to either one of them, then their plan would be ruined.

"I have a car," Octavius huffed, out of breath. "Through there."

He pointed to a door and Felicia didn't waste time with the knob, instead kicking the wood straight off its hinges. The group staggered into the garage and Felicia shoved her two charges towards the car.

"I'm driving." She said, snatching a set of keys from a hook on the wall.

Peter opened his mouth to object, but Felicia had already slid across the hood and was now throwing open the driver's side door. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Peter helped Octavius into his seat, before climbing into the passenger's chair.

"Buckled up, bitches!" Felicia grinned like a lunatic, as the garage door opened remotely. "We're about to be in a car chase!"

* * *

**Yeah, so I didn't know how people would react to the body switch. Some people were open to the plot line and others weren't so pleased with it. So it goes. That's one of the main reasons that this story is a spin-off instead of part of the main TMR story-line. So that in case people don't like it, I won't loose hopefully too many readers for TMR. That's what I love about spin-offs though, I can write more I guess "risky" stuff without worrying too much. (I mean "risky" in the relative sense)**

**I recently watched the new Disney movie, "Frozen", and as a teenage dude I'm not afraid to say that I cried happy little girl tears all the way through. That movie is fantastic and I love almost everything about it. So now I have an idea for a Frozen/Doctor Who crossover. I plan on writing it, but I don't know if it will get posted any time soon, since this story and TMR are my priorities right now. (Along with graduating high school)**

**Thanks for reading. The cold never bothered me anyway.**

**- Mike**


	4. Part IV

**Part IV of The Voice of Reason. Thanks to Tregun and jasonmatthews940436 for reviewing.**

* * *

Debra was curled up in a small ball, trying to hide away from the world, when Modell finally shook himself awake.

"Ugh, heavens above," He coughed once, hard and put a hand to his forehead. "What- What's going on?"

As he spoke, Debra raised her head, poking her face above the collar of her lab coat much like a turtle emerging from its shell.

"Mr. Modell?" She asked, as if unsure the man she'd been locked up with for the last few hours was indeed her boss.

"Ms. Whitman," Modell tried to rise, but his knee buckled underneath him and he slumped against the wall again. "Debra, what happened? Where are we?"

"We're being held prisoner."

"Prisoner? By who?" Modell worked his way into the standing position, using the wall for support. "Debra, answer me."

"Horizon Labs," She began, feeling the tears starting to well up again. "It doesn't exist. We're in Oscorp, Norman Osborn has the hadron-collider, Peter and his girlfriend are gone, and we're going to die."

Modell blinked at her for a moment, processing all that she had just said. He was honestly intrigued by the Horizon Labs situation, as differences between dimensions, such as the changing of companies, can often have enormous effects on the different timeline. Norman Osborn with the collider was another problem altogether.

"I need to speak to Osborn," Modell spotted the only door in the room and stumbled over to it. "If I can explain the situation to him, get him to understand, and then he'll have to let us go."

"I tried," Debra wailed. "He wouldn't listen though. He thinks I'm a lunatic. Oh god, we're going to die."

"Be quiet, Ms. Whitman." Modell grunted and banged a fist on the door. "Hey, open up! I want to talk to someone!" He beat the door once more, but no one came to his call or even registered his existence. "I want to talk to Norman Osborn!"

"It's no use. They've just left us here."

"They can't have," Modell turned on Debra. "We need the collider to get home, to save the universe."

"I know that, but they won't listen, Max." She hid her face again. "Everything is ruined."

"What about Peter?" He crossed the room and knelt down to his co-worker. "You said, he's gone, what does that mean?"

"He's just not here." Debra mumbled into her coat. "I don't know where he is, but he just isn't here."

"If he's out there, then he'll come for us. Peter will figure something out, he's a bright man."

"He switched bodies with that woman though, remember?"

"Well… Yeah, that complicates things," Modell scratched at his beard. "But right now, they're our best chance of getting out of here." He stood up then and went back to the door.

"What are you doing?" Debra called after him.

He was examining the door lock, poking at it with his finger and turning it experimentally. Eventually he turned back to Debra.

"I'm not giving up, Ms. Whitman. Not yet." He pointed at the mess of blond hair atop her head. "You wouldn't happen to have a bobby pin would you?"

* * *

Peter would have loved for Felicia to have been wrong. However, as they set off down the small driveway and towards the street, Peter spotted the Enforcers rushing towards their own vehicle. It was a big, black SUV, much larger and overall more intimidating then Octavius's immaculate sedan. Peter had to give these guys credit, they were professionals at their core and it was unlikely that they would give up on their targets after one quick fist fight.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Peter asked as they performed a screeching turn onto the street.

"Of course!" Felicia swerved around a fellow car and pressed the accelerator to the floor. "Some of us don't have the luxury of web-swinging everywhere."

"Pardon me," Octavius poked his head up between their seats. "But what do you mean by 'web-swinging'?" Despite their current predicament, Octavius seemed still seemed interested in gathering as much information about his strange visitors as possible.

"Web-Swinging," She defined. "It's where you swing from buildings using artificial spider webs. Peter does it all the time. Well he usually can, not right now though since we've done the switch. I could do it though, if he let me."

"Stop telling him stuff!" Peter barked as he looked over his shoulder and out the back window, searching for the Enforcers. "We're interfering enough in this dimension as it is, the last thing we need is to tell Doctor Octopus all of my secrets."

"Doctor Octopus?" Octavius repeated, testing the words in his mouth. "What does that mean? Why did you call me-"

He didn't get to finish his question though, as suddenly the back window exploded in a shower of glass. Bullets tore through the air, ripping a chunk out of Peter's head rest and punching holes in the windshield.

"Damn!" Felicia turned the car sharply and sped through a red light, narrowly avoiding the intersecting traffic. "Everyone alright?"

"I appear to have soiled myself."

"Good to know, Doc. What about you, Peter?"

"I'm fine," Peter gradually lifted his head back up and peered over the seat. "You need to lose them Felicia. We can't risk leading them to the lab."

"Wow, that's really great advice." Felicia snapped, squeezing the steering wheel hard. "It's so good, that I've decided to change your name from Spider-Man to Captain Obvious. How does that sound? Do you like your new name, Captain Obvious?"

Peter shot Felicia a look out of the corner of his eye. She tended to get sort of derogatory when put under pressure.

"Do you want me to drive?" He offered.

"No, sit back Cap'n. I got this."

He rolled his eyes, not exactly a hundred percent sure of Felicia's abilities. Yeah, he trusted her with his life, but these were extenuating circumstances. She was volatile, powerful, and scared, a bad combination, and when paired with their current situation, it was essentially devastating. Peter was out of options though. He would have to let Felicia do her best.

Casting a glance back out the rear window, Peter found that the Enforcers were keeping up with them pretty well. They weren't afraid to push their way through traffic, bashing smaller cars out of the way in their chase. It was getting later in the evening, and the group was lucky to have missed the rush hour. However, the streets were still alive with activity and one wrong turn could find them as part of a street collision.

"You need to get off the main roads." Peter risked giving advice once more. "We'll get caught in the traffic out here and someone might get hurt."

Felicia glanced in her rear-view mirror and watched as Fancy Dan leaned from the passenger, leveling a rifle at them once again.

"Alright, put your heads down and hang on." She said, quickly changing lanes and steering the car away from the major car congestion. More bullets dug gouges into the metal roof and sent sparks crackling behind them. "Octavius, where is this lab!"

The doctor was huddled practically underneath his seat and was reluctant to risk venturing out again.

"It's- it's off South Congress, down by that department store with the green sign." He answered quickly.

"South Congress, department store, green sign." Felicia repeated, she reached over and slapped Peter on the arm. "Keep your eyes open navigator. It's about time we lost these guys."

* * *

Montana took one hand off of the steering wheel and reached over to grab Fancy Dan by the belt, pulling the man back into the car.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled to his companion. "Osborn said that he wanted them alive!"

"I thought that stipulation went out the window as soon as that dude turned out to be some kind of ninja." Fancy Dan shot back, cradling his rifle. "Did you see him back there? That guy has superpowers or something."

"It doesn't matter. We do the job right or we don't do it at all." Montana gritted his teeth as he pushed a smaller car out of the way with his fender of his own vehicle. "We aren't getting anywhere with this chase. We need a new strategy." He looked over his shoulder to the third member of their party. "Ox, have you run that car's plates yet?"

The massive Enforcer was huddled in the back of their SUV, curled up uncomfortably with a small laptop on his lap. Ox tapped a few keys furiously, being careful to not crack the keyboard with his husky fingers.

"It's registered to an Otto Octavius," He replied, swiftly scanning the computer screen. "He has a house, which we've just visited, and a laboratory set up on South Congress."

"I have a proposition," Fancy Dan spoke up and looked between his fellow Enforcers. "If we back off for a bit, make them think that they've lost us, then they might make a run for that laboratory. "

"I don't know," Montana considered the proposed course of action. "We can't risk losing them again. After all, we wouldn't have found them the first time at all if it wasn't for that camera on the bus. Who knows if we'll get that lucky again?"

"You said it yourself; this chase isn't getting us anywhere. It's a good plan, Montana. Why can't you ever listen to what I have to say?"

"Oh, don't you start that right now." Montana jabbed a finger in Fancy Dan's direction. "I listen to you all the time."

"Like hell you do." Fancy Dan tightened his grip on his rifle. "I told you that we should sneak into that house, but you wanted Ox to break down the wall. Now they're getting away."

"It was a good plan! The element of surprise usually works out for us."

"Well it didn't that time-"

"For the love of god!" Ox bellowed suddenly. "Shut up both of you." Montana and Fancy Dan fell silent immediately, both casting wary glances towards the usually stoic Ox. "Fancy Dan has a good plan," He continued. "Let's fall back a bit and see if they head for that lab. Once they do, we can bust in there and take them out. We know what we're dealing with this time and they won't get away."

There was a beat of compete silence, while they all mulled over the new option. Finally Montana nodded slowly and turned back towards the road.

"Alright," he said as he eased off the gas. "Let's take the gamble."

* * *

Felicia didn't stop her frantic driving until their pursuers had faded far into the distance. With a final burst of gas, she pulled them into a parking garage and stopped the car in an open spot. Peter unbuckled his seat belt.

"Stay here." He command and pushed the car door open, stepping out into the garage.

Octavius straightened up in his seat and watched Peter dart away from the car, before turning to Felicia.

"Where's he going?" The doctor queried. "Have we lost them?"

"Shh." Felicia hissed over her shoulder. She remained in her seat, but craned her neck so that she could look after her boyfriend.

After a few tense seconds, Peter returned and stuck his head back into the car.

"I didn't see anyone. We must have lost them." He explained. "Let's ditch the car and get moving."

Felicia started to move, un-strapping herself from the driver's chair and clambering from the car. Octavius remained in his seat though, glaring out at Peter.

"We can't abandon my car, I need it." Octavius frowned. "Not to mention my house, which is now destroyed, thanks to you."

"Oh really," Peter snapped, wrenching the door open and hauling the doctor out. "You think this is all my fault? I didn't tell those guys to trash your place, or shoot up your car. You promised to help us, Octavius, and that's what you're going to do."

"I didn't know it would be dangerous." Octavius slapped Peter's hands away from him. "I thought you'd simply require an easy mind transplant!"

"Mind transplant?" Felicia repeated, joining the pair. "I'm confused. Is this called body switching, mind melding, or mind transplanting? Or something else?"

"What happened between you two has never been documented before," Octavius explained. "However, if I had to give it a name, I'd call it a 'body switch'. In order to reverse the effects, you'd need what I call a 'mind transplant'."

"That sounds painful," Felicia muttered.

"Painful or not, we have to do it. Come on, we can talk on the way," Peter started marching off. "Right now, we need to get to your lab, Octavius."

The strange group made their way out of the parking garage and started down the street. Octavius took the lead after a while, having a much better knowledge of the path to his personal workstation. Felicia sidled up to Peter and laced her fingers with his.

"You're tense." She commented, pulling him closer to her.

"And you're not?" Peter huffed. "As if this day could get any crazier, now we've got a group of mobsters on our tail."

"It's not just that," Felicia tightened her grip on him. "You're sending out some bad vibes."

"_Bad vibes_," He scoffed. "Felicia, that's just the spider-sense acting up."

"No it's not, something's bothering you. Tell me what's up."

"Nothing is bothering-"

"Peter."

He had been scanning the area around them, looking for signs of trouble, but as she said his name, Peter looked to his mate. It wasn't a pleasant experience to look into his own face and see Felicia's grim stare fixed on him. He silently made a vow, that when this was all over he would find a way to wipe this time from his memory. For the time being though, Felicia was demanding an answer and Peter felt that she wouldn't stop until he gave in.

"The logo that was on those security drones" He began. "Those were Oscorp bots, Felicia. Horizon Labs is Oscorp here."

"Yeah," Felicia kept her gaze on him, studying the face that he was currently using. "That's a problem yes, but there's something else. Is it Norman Osborn?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I mean, are you worried about Osborn."

Peter took a deep breath and tore his eyes away from Felicia. He fixed his gaze on Otto Octavius's back, watching the scientist lead them towards more trials and tribulations. In all honesty, Peter was completely and furiously pissed with their entire situation. He didn't like swapping bodies with Felicia, he didn't like finding Connors to be a total waste of space, he didn't like being forced to team up with Doctor Octopus, he didn't like being beaten by Fancy Dan, and he really _really_ didn't like the possibility of coming face to face with Norman Osborn once more.

"I don't know what I'll do if I see him." Peter mumbled, keeping his eyes on Octavius's back.

"I know," Felicia nudged him with her elbow. "You'll do what you always do, Babe. You'll do the right thing."

Peter shivered.

_The right thing._

He had trouble remembering the last time he had done anything the right way. After Gwen's death he had run off, putting all his friends in a state of confusion and hurt. Then with the symbiote he had almost destroyed his relationship with Felicia. Eddie Brock had been killed, so had Flash Thompson, and the sad thing was that in the end: they were just two more bodies on an ever increasing pile of death.

_ No one dies._

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had whispered those words into a sleeping Gwen's ear. He had been trying to comfort himself more than her. He had tried to bury his fear under empty words, words that would prove to be not only false, but a complete and utter lie. Norman Osborn may have drawn first blood by killing Aunt May and Gwen, but Peter had proven himself no better by taking Osborn's life in turn. The last words of Norman Osborn: "_You are my legacy_."

Was that what Peter had become, a cold blooded killer, just like his nemeses before him. By dying Osborn had not only sealed his fate, but condemned Peter to a life of doubt and regret. He would always remember what it was like to kill someone. He would always remember how good it had felt in the moment.

"No one dies." Peter said aloud abruptly, causing Felicia to jump slightly. He stopped walking and brought her to a halt as well with a tug of his hand. Peter turned to face Felicia fully and spoke carefully, with absolute fortitude. "No one dies, Felicia. I mean it this time, the legacy stops here."

She didn't know for certain what he meant, but Felicia nodded anyways. She could sense the power in his words and the meaning that only held weight with him.

"No one dies." She repeated and smiled at him, before leaning in for a kiss.

"Whoa!" Peter pushed her back.

"What?!" Felicia opened her eyes and glared at him. "What's wrong?"

"No making out until we switch back."

Felicia blinked at him, and then looked him up and down quickly.

"Oh Peter, don't be such a baby."

"I mean it!" Peter set off again, jogging after Octavius to catch up with him. "You keep your hands away from me."

Felicia laughed and started after him.

"It's my body. I can do whatever I want to it."

"Well right now I'm using it so back off."

"Fine, fine." Felicia positioned herself next to him and took his hand again. "Big baby."

The sun was starting to set on their first and hopefully only day in the new dimension. Octavius led them further through the streets and finally came to a stop outside of his laboratory.

"Alright," He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and crossed to the front door. "Once we're inside, just do everything I tell you and you'll be back in your respective bodies in no time."

"Brilliant." Peter followed Octavius after he had gotten the doors open and with a few flicks, the doctor had illuminated the large room. It was pretty generic, multiple workbenches, various tools and high tech equipment, and what looked like a pair of hospital gurneys took up the main floor. Octavius dashed straight over to a console near the center of the room and started slapping buttons.

"You," He pointed to Felicia. "Go over to that cabinet and retrieve my Octobot."

"Octo-what?"

"It's a golden sphere with multiple tubular appendages protruding from its surface."

"Tubular appendages?" Felicia repeated, still not moving.

"I got it," Peter brushed past her and went to the cabinet, struggling to remove the odd apparatus. "So why do you call this an Octobot?" He asked, feigning nonchalance.

_Doctor Octopus shouldn't exist here_. Peter thought. _Octavius didn't even recognize the name, but he has 'Octobots'? What's up with that?__  
_  
"My name is Otto Octavius," The Doctor explained, now moving about the lab and rearranging some of the appliances. "The 'Oct' is for Octavius, the 'O' is for Optics, and the 'Bot is for Robot. It's all very simple, really.

"Yeah," Peter carried the Octobot over to its creator. "Simple."

Octavius took the robot from Peter and plopped it on a workbench, next he grabbed the two gurneys and wheeled them over to rest on either side of the Octobot.

"Alright," He patted one of the small beds. "Hop up, one of you for each."

Felicia cast Peter a worried glance and he nodded at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way. They both clambered onto their respective beds and Octavius started grabbing different appendages from the Octobot and connecting them to their heads, talking all the while.

"Essentially what is going to happen is this," He explained, pressing a tube to Felicia's head. "You're going to be put to sleep, then your consciousness will be uploaded into the Octobot, and finally download into your proper body. It shouldn't hurt a bit and you should wake up feeling like a million bucks, any questions?"

Peter swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a cold wave of trepidation wash over him. Here he was, putting himself completely under Doctor Octopus's control, under his mercy. He wasn't comfortable with this, not by a long shot, but this was their only hope. Octavius seemed confident in his technology, and Peter would have to take the confidence at face value.

"Why do you even have this machine?" Peter asked.

"No reason," Octavius clapped once. "Alright kids, I'll see you on the other side."

He rushed over to the center console again, and with one last thumbs-up, he flicked a switch and everything went black for Peter Parker and Felicia Hardy.

* * *

All she could hear was the howling of the wind. For a moment, Felicia was filled with terror, wondering if she had become trapped in another dimensional tunnel. Her first journey had been just as unpleasant as Peter's, albeit without the interesting flashes of her mate's memories. Her eyes were shut and with a supreme amount of effort, she forced them open.

She was… outside, sort of. Felicia pushed herself into a sitting position and examined her surroundings with more scrutiny. She was in the city, lying in the middle of the road. However, it wasn't the city that she was familiar with. The streets were deserted, completely devoid of people or cars. A quick look up proved that the sky was an inky black, starless and moonless.

_This isn't real._

Somehow Felicia knew. It was her consciousness that was being uploaded into the Octobot, before being deposited in her own body. This must have been some sort of vision to help her mind cope with the foreign 'mind transplant'. Yet, if it was a coping mechanism, it was indeed a poor one. The silent town with its dark sky and grey buildings was one of the most haunting things she had ever seen. Felicia was filled with the sudden urge to just move.

A moment later and she was on her feet, her feet. Felicia looked down at herself for the first time and grinned. She was back in her own skin.

"Oh thank you lord," Felicia moved her hands down her sides, feeling the comfortable curves of her body. "It's all going on down there, isn't it?" She gave a very uncharacteristic giggle, suddenly high off of her realization.

_ Hopefully things stay that way._

She brought her hand in front of her face and flexed her slender fingers experimentally. There was no rippling strength or hidden power. Felicia was just human.

_ Oh well, it was fun while it lasted._

Doing a slow spin, Felicia looked for any recognizable landmark or indication on where to go. The rational side of her recommended that she stayed where she was, in the hopes that the dream would soon fade away and that she would reawaken in the real world. The curious side, on the other hand, was much louder and demanded that she investigate her new surroundings, which led to her setting off down the street.

It wasn't very warm in the mindscape, quite the opposite. As Felicia jogged down the empty road, the cold air burned down her throat and her breath floated from her lips in tiny bursts of frost. The removal of Peter's powers weren't too prominent to her, being that she'd only had the abilities for a matter of hours. Not to say that she didn't notice their absence completely. Felicia wouldn't be slinging anymore webs for the foreseeable future.

She had barely gotten to the end of the first block, when she heard it. Ever since she'd first woken up, the imaginary city had been completely silent, save for her steady breathing and foot falls. Now however, there was a new sound, loud and threatening. It was a series of booms, one after the other, increasing in volume with every beat.

_Drums? No, footsteps. Loud footsteps.__  
_  
Felicia whirled around just in time to see the source of the disturbance come barreling around the corner of a building. Her heart stopped mid-beat and she froze on the spot. It was the Rhino. Felicia had only seen the beast a few times, but the giant cross-species was not easily forgotten.

_Maybe if I stay still, it won't see me._

The Rhino took a step forward and roared at Felicia before he charged.

_So much for that.__  
_  
Felicia took two steps to her left, pushed off the ground, and rolled out of the way as the Rhino thundered past her. She came to a rest in a crouch, immediately shooting her hand down her boot and wrapping her fingers around the grip of her knife. It had taken almost being killed by the symbiote-transformed Eddie Brock, for her to start carrying a weapon with her. Now she was prepared, although as she drew the dagger, she couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous.

_Like fighting a grizzly bear with a toothpick._

The Rhino came to a screeching halt once he realized that he had missed his intended target. Felicia watched as he twisted his meaty neck and fixed his beady eyes on her once more. She needed to come up with some plan of defense, fast. Fighting the monster head on didn't seem like a good idea, so that only left two options, running or dying.

The ground shook once more as The Rhino advanced on her swiftly. Felicia bolted upright and sprinted off down the street, hoping to find a small alleyway that she could duck into. However, she only got a few yards before large, powerful fingers closed around her middle and lifted her into the air.

_This isn't real._ She thought as the ground fell away from her. _It's just a nightmare, a side effect of the 'mind transplant'. I can't actually die.__  
_  
But as the Rhino squeezed the air from her lungs, Felicia found it hard to believe her reasoning. She watched as he smiled at her, flashing large tombstone shaped teeth.

"Squish the bug." The Rhino growled and opened his mouth wide, preparing to toss Felicia down his gullet.

She lashed out, throwing her knife with all of her strength and skill. The blade buried itself in the Rhino's eye socket and the beast roared in pain. Felicia felt his grip loosen and she kicked at him, delivering a fierce blow to his jaw. His top and bottom teeth connected in a sharp snap, which severed a good two inches off the end of his tongue.

The Rhino released his dinner and stumbled back, pawing at his ruined face and moaning pitifully. Felicia landed on the asphalt and cried out as her ankle twisted painfully. She gritted her teeth though and clambered to her feet. The Rhino was currently flailing around, swinging his arms in great arcs and stomping cracks into the street. He was just as dangerous as before, if not more, and Felicia decided that it was time to make her exit.

She limped away, not really heading in any direction in particular. The more distance she put between herself and the rampaging cross-breed the better. A safe looking alleyway had just came into view, when suddenly she heard something else, a new noise.

"For fuck's sake!" Felicia wheeled around. "What is it now!?"

It was a car. The station wagon pulled up next to Felicia and the passenger door popped open.

"Hey there, Miss." called the driver from his seat. "You look like you could use a ride."

Felicia blinked, not really sure what she was seeing. The driver was an older looking man, with a kind face, and soft eyes. He looked oddly familiar to her, like someone she'd never met, but someone she'd seen before.

"Why don't you hop in," The man continued. "It's not safe here."

Defying all of her usual reservations and paranoia, Felicia immediately climbed into the car and shut the door. They drove off then, heading away from the Rhino and towards the edge of town.

"Sorry about that back there," The man jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the Rhino. "He doesn't take kindly to visitors."

Felicia didn't respond. She examined the interior of the car, diligently looking for some sort of clue. Soon enough, she found it as a picture glued to the dashboard.

"That woman," Felicia pointed to the photo. "That's Peter's Aunt May."

The man nodded.

"Indeed it is. I took that one almost twenty years ago, isn't May a beauty."

"I know you." Felicia stared at the man. "I know who you are."

"Is that so?"

"I do, you're Uncle Ben."

"Yes," Ben smiled at her. "Yes I am."

Felicia tore her eyes away from the elderly man and glanced out the window, watching the buildings drift past her. She was in a nightmare, of course, but it wasn't hers. It was Peter's.

_The Rhino, this city, it's all in Peter's head. It's a nightmare.__  
__  
_"What are you doing here?" Felicia demanded of Ben. She'd only seen him in a photograph before, shortly after Aunt May's death when Peter had pointed him out to her. From what Peter had said, the man had been a father to him, not a source of fear. Why was Uncle Ben here?

"I could be asking you the same question." Ben responded, steering the car around a corner. Felicia caught sight of a bridge in the distance, but it disappeared as they continued on their journey.

"I'm here because both me and Peter have been uploaded into the Octobot," She answered his question. "Our minds are being jumbled together or something… I think."

"That's a good answer, although, it doesn't answer my question."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is this," Ben turned his head and looked her straight in the eye. "Why are you here? Why did you come to this dimension? Peter didn't ask you to, and you surely didn't want to. So why are you here?"

"Peter needed me-"

"You're willing to charge headfirst into the unknown, risk your life and limb, and suffer physical and emotional trauma for him. Why, Felicia Hardy? Why would you do that?"

"Because I love him."

"Would he do the same for you?" Ben had stopped the car, but Felicia didn't notice. "Would Peter risk his life for you?"

"Of course." She answered automatically. "He would risk his life for anyone."

"Ah," Ben smiled sadly. "I see. So you're saying that Peter would help because it's the right thing to do, because of who he is. Not out of devotion to you."

"I didn't say that." Felicia snapped. She was gripping the door handle, causing the material to creak dangerously. "Peter cares about me, just like I care about him."

"I thought you said that you loved him."

"I do love him. It's the same thing."

"Is it?"

"Yes!" Felicia cried. She threw her door open and jumped out, before slamming it closed again. The window rolled down and she leaned up to it, speaking to Ben from a safe distance. "What are you trying to say?! That Peter doesn't love me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"He's never told you." Ben was still looking at her with that same melancholy expression. "He's never told you that he loves you."

"He doesn't have to."

Uncle Ben chuckled softly and dragged a hand down his face. Then he tilted his head, gazing at something behind Felicia. She turned, following his gaze, and found that they were outside of a house. Felicia looked back to Ben, ready to demand an explanation, but the car was gone, along with Peter's uncle.

Felicia swallowed hard and faced the house again. She had recognized it quickly. It was Peter's childhood home. The real Parker Household had been burnt down over a year ago by the Green Goblin. It was currently an empty lot.

As if of their own accord, her feet carried her forward, towards the front door. Her limp seemed to have vanished, as her ankle had miraculously healed. It seemed like the longer she spent here the fewer things made sense. She reached the door, but didn't knock, instead just pushing it open and entering the main hall. The stairs drew her attention and she made a beeline for them. She made her way up to the second floor and towards Peter's old bedroom.

She'd never been in his old room, so she didn't really know what to expect. However, anything would have been better than what she actually saw when she pushed the door open.

"What are you doing here?" Felicia snarled at the room's occupant.

"I belong here," the redhead laughed. It sounded like beautiful, tinkling glass. "The better question is what are you doing here?"

Hot tears pricked at Felicia's vision as she turned and bolted from the room. She didn't stop until she was out of the house and a good way down the street. Felicia fell to her knees and buried her knuckles in the ground.

Peter had never told Felicia that he loved her. He never would.

Felicia's vision started to swim and at first she thought it was because of the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Then she started to hear the howling of the wind again. She was going to wake up soon. The nightmare would be over and she would be back in her own body, in the real world. For a split second, Felicia wished that she would that she would never wake up. It was in vain though, since the universe had always been cruel to Felicia Hardy and didn't care what she wished for or not.

She woke up.

* * *

**I had planned to post every other day, but yesterday I was just too busy to get to my computer. Hopefully now I'll be able to keep up my schedule and have this story done by the end of next week. Then we'll head back to TMR and spend more time in our proper universe.**

**The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes out in a month and I can not be more excited. Everything about this film looks totally awesome, Electro, Rhino, and The Green Goblin (Although he looks like the Master Chief or something) and Emma Stone (She might be the hottest woman on the planet) I'm shooting for seeing the midnight release, but we'll see.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**- Mike**


	5. Part V

**Part V of The Voice of Reason. Thanks to Tregun and jdcocoagirl for reviewing.**

* * *

Peter opened his eyes, his eyes. A wide grin split his face as he felt the comfortable rumble of strength in his chest and power in his muscles. He was back, safe in his own body and out of Felicia's. It was the best feeling in the world. However, his single moment of glee was horribly interrupted by the barrel of a gun being jabbed into his face.

"You've done screwed up, asshole." Montana sneered, pressing the cool steel of the weapon against the other man's forehead.

Peter stiffened as the world came crashing down around him. Montana held him at gunpoint, Fancy Dan was standing over a fallen Octavius and to his right, Peter could see Ox pinning down his girlfriend. An unexpected rage boiled up from Peter's gut.

_Can't I ever get a break?_

"Just hold on a second." Peter began, planning on attempting to defuse the situation. Montana, on the other hand, had already decided on how things were going to play out.

"Sorry partner," The Enforcer cocked his gun with a deafening click. "But we've spent too much time messing around with yall. You're gonna come with us."

Peter glanced at Felicia from the corner of his eye. Ox had a firm grip around her neck, holding her fast to her gurney. He could easily handle Montana and his six shooter, but protecting Felicia and Octavius complicated things. What he needed to do was get Ox away from Felicia and Montana away from him, although that was a little easier said than done.

Underneath Ox's massive palm, Felicia writhed in anger. The last effects of her dream-like vision and the rude awakening were not improving her mood. She ached to get free and sink her claws in the Ox's fleshy neck, but that was near impossible from her current position. Felicia did not like feeling helpless and she did not like being dependent. Nevertheless, for the time being it was up to Peter to liberate them both.

It was at that moment though that Montana squeezed down on the trigger of his gun. Peter was fortunate that eight millimeters of lead weren't knocking against his brain, as instead nearly ten thousand volts of electricity poured from the stun gun, directly into his skull. Despite the surprise attack and the usually debilitating amount of electricity, Montana's plan ended up backfiring. Peter's leg spun out of his control and caught Montana in the middle, sending the Enforcer sailing across the lab.

Still buzzing from the shock and the adrenaline that accompanied his typical powers, Peter propelled himself from the gurney. The flimsy bed crumpled completely as its temporary occupant fled. Peter paid no attention to the ruined equipment though, since he had already had a hand in ruining a great deal of Octavius's belongings.

Ox was knocked off balance as Peter collided with him. They both tumbled to the ground, freeing Felicia and engaging each other in close quarters combat. Wrapping his strong arms around Peter, Ox rolled himself over and flattened his target beneath him. Peter felt the massive weight pressing down on him and he lashed out, shoving his head forward and straight into Ox's nose. The bone crumbled instantly and the grip on Peter loosened just enough for him to get his legs up and between him and his attacker. With one strong kick, he dislodged Ox and sprung to his feet.

Felicia leapt from her own bed as Peter and Ox wrestled. She trusted her boyfriend to take care of himself, Octavius meanwhile could probably use more than a little help. Fancy Dan watched as Felicia dashed towards him, pulling her knife from her boot as she went. With a very feline pounce, Felicia lunged forward, slashing with her dagger. Fancy Dan retreated and used his hands to repel her blades, all the while creating lateral distance between them.

As the pair danced away from him, Octavius scrambled up onto his hands and knees. He slid under a nearby desk and rubbed at his bruised jaw, where Fancy Dan had struck him earlier. The Enforcers had attacked a matter of moments before the 'mind transplant' had been completed. The doctor could only assume that the procedure was a success, as the fight raged around him.

_This is the last time I'm helping anybody._ Octavius affirmed, and then quickly hid his head as Peter was dragged across the top of his desk.

Ox slammed Peter onto the furniture once more before tossing him into the air. The super-human recovered quickly and turned himself in the air, firing a web-line at Ox. Another grin tore itself across Peter's face as the familiar twipp of his bio-cables reached his ears. Some things he had taken for granted before would forever be cherished now. There was no way he would ever give up his powers again.

The bio-cable snagged Ox's shoulder and Peter dragged himself downwards, putting extra force behind his next punch. His fist collided with the bulky Enforcer's jaw and fell him like a chopped tree. Peter landed on his chest and was about to deliver a final blow, when suddenly a lasso wrapped around his shoulders, pinning his arms.

"Not so fast there pal," Montana raised his stun gun again. "It's time you got wrangled."

"Oh please don't tell me," Peter pirouetted out of the way of the first shot, dragging the lasso with him. "Is_ that_ you're one-liner?"

"Might be, might not. It don't matter to you tiny dancer." Montana readjusted his grip on his lasso, keeping a firm hold on Peter and trying to aim his gun at the same time. "When I'm done with you, you won't be able to tell a one-liner from a two-step."

"Alright, seriously you need to stop talking." Peter flexed and ripped the lasso from his torso. "You're only embarrassing yourself."

Across the room, Felicia stabbed with her blade and Fancy Dan deflected it with a swift forearm. The couple was evenly matched up to this point. Both were martial arts experts, and although Felicia had the only weapon, Fancy Dan had a few more years of fighting experience under his belt. However, those years of experiences has prepared him with a certain amount of expectations. Unbeknownst to him, Felicia Hardy typically defied all expectations.

She ducked under a high kick and dragged her knife upwards, slashing a red line across the front of his shirt.

"Ah!" Fancy Dan stumbled back and patted at his chest. "What the hell, bitch?!"

"What did you expect," Felicia twirled her blade and advanced on him. "That it would tickle?"

"I just expected more from the good guys." He chuckled and slapped away her next strike before gripping her arm and twisting the knife from her grasp. Felicia shot her knee upwards buried it in his gut, and then as he doubled over, she delivered a fierce chop to the back of his neck.

"Well bad news, you've caught me in a bad mood," She shoved him to the ground and stomped her heel against his forehead, knocking him out. "And I am not a good guy."

Peter flipped forward and kicked the gun from Montana's hand. The Enforcer stumbled back and swung a fist in a last ditch attempt at self-defense. Peter was too fast though. He ducked the punch and shoved his palm forward, pushing the air out of Montana's chest and sending him to the ground.

The final Enforcer fell with a heavy thud, and as he glared up at his old target, Montana could resist no longer.

"What. The hell. Are you?!" Montana cried as he struggled to rise once more. Peter smirked. He'd been waiting for this moment for a while.

"I'm-"

"Spider-Man!" Felicia leapt from nowhere and dealt the final blow to Montana's skull. Peter gawked at Felicia as the man folded in a heap.

"What was that?!" He demanded, throwing his hands in the air.

"You were taking too long." Felicia shrugged and stretched a few kinks from her back.

"No," Peter growled. "I was not. I cannot believe you stole my one-liner like that."

"Oh boo hoo. You can get the next one."

Felicia strode away from him, hips full sway and her jaw set. Peter could tell something was bothering her. She only got this sassy when there was a serious thorn in her paw. He sighed, even after all that had happened up to this point; there was still the constant danger of his short tempered mate.

_Oh well,_ Peter scanned the room for Doctor Octavius. _One thing at a time._

* * *

"What are you going to do with them?" Octavius asked, watching Peter web the Enforcers together.

Peter finished his work and turned to the doctor, actually wondering the same thing himself.

"I think the best thing to do would take them down to the police station," He reasoned. "Felicia and I can drop them off and get out of there without being seen. These guys are definitely involved in some illegal activates. The blues will lock them up for something, I'm sure."

"Wouldn't it be smart to see what they know?" Felicia was sitting cross-legged up on the desk, scratching some dirt out from under her fingernails with a pair of scissors. "I could pump them for info."

"No." Peter denied her immediately. He'd seen firsthand her interrogation techniques. "It's pretty obvious that Osborn sent them after us and that Modell and Debra are being held at Oscorp. We know what we have to do."

Felicia rolled her eyes and leapt from her perch, ready to go. Octavius still had a pressing concern though.

"What about my house?!" He pleaded. "My car, my lab?!" He threw his hands in the air, gesturing around his ruined facility. "Who's going to pay for all of this?"

Peter shoved his hand into his jeans pocket, please to find that they not only fit him properly, but had adequate storage room. With a flourish, he pulled out the wad of money that Felicia had stored their earlier at the diner.

"This won't cover all of it," He tossed it lightly to Octavius. "But it's all we got."

Felicia stepped forward then, opening her mouth to voice some of her displeasure. That was her money after all, but a firm hand on her shoulder though prevented her potential tirade. Peter spun her around and kissed her quickly, relishing the way their lips fit together adequately. With a wet, pop, the couple separated and any anger Felicia felt was stemmed slightly.

"I'll make it up to you." He whispered quietly in her ear, before pecking her on the cheek. Felicia nodded solemnly, feeling her face start to flush. The sweet gesture had surprised her more than anything, but instead of putting her mind at ease, it only disturbed her more.

_Does Peter love me? _She couldn't help but wonder.

It was a simple question, although that meant it was just that much more difficult to answer. Hard questions and their simple answers, easy questions and their complex answers. Felicia's head started to hurt.

"Thanks for your help, doctor. It's good to be back in my own shoes." Peter slapped Octavius on the shoulder. The other man winced and rubbed at his shoulder with obvious distaste. Peter only chuckled at the man's displeasure. It was good to know that somewhere in the universe, Otto Octavius was a good man.

The Enforcer's SUV was parked outside the lab and after some finagling, Peter and Felicia managed to wedge their former hunters into the back. Peter rooted around in Montana's pockets, retrieving the car key, before slamming the door on them.

"Oh no, I don't think so." Felicia snatched the keys from Peter's grasp and crossed to the driver's seat.

"Whoa, why can't I drive?" He followed her, intent on making a case.

"Because you don't know how, Peter."

"Well how hard could it be?"

Felicia opened the door and climbed into her seat.

"What happened to '_hurry, hurry, hurry_'?" She snapped. "You're always talking about how we're on a tight schedule and you want to waste time learning to drive?"

"Well when you put it like that-"

She slammed the door on him and shoved the key in the ignition, reeving the engine. Peter sighed and walked around to the passenger side door. It was impossible for him to ignore now: Felicia was seriously pissed at him for something.

As they pulled away from the lab and started towards the police station, Peter reached over and rested his palm on her knee.

Over the course of their relationship, Peter and Felicia have had their fair share of arguments. It had taken some getting used to, as this was uncharted territory for Peter. When he had been with Gwen, their relationship had been near flawless. So much so that it bordered on near ridiculousness. Now however, he would have to employ some 'make-up' tactics, namely: physical contact and obvious concern.

"How are you feeling?" He probed gently, drawing light circles on her jeans.

"I'm fine." She kept her eyes fixed on the road.

_Whelp._ Peter groaned inwardly. _It's official, I'm totally screwed._

They parked the SUV a couple of blocks away from the actual police station. After wiping it for any of their finger prints, they abandoned it without a second thought. It would most likely be towed and Peter and Felicia didn't plan on sticking around this dimension to pay the fine.

Peter hauled the Enforcers onto the roof of the police station and, after wrapping them in a sturdy web-cocoon, hung them down in front of the front doors. Passerby's stopped mid-track to catch the weird spectacle and as officers began stepping from the building to investigate, Peter made his leave.

He swung across the street and alighted on a ledge next to Felicia. She was sitting on the edge, dangling her feet over the street and watching the crowed start to mill around the front of the station. Peter joined her and checked his web-shooter.

"That took a lot of bio-cable," He admitted. "Hopefully, I won't have to use too much more."

The sun had exchanged its place in the sky for the moon by this time and Felicia pointed her face towards the sky, basking in the light of the moon. Peter glanced up from his web-shooter and watched the rays bounce off of her slender face.

"What's wrong, Felicia?" He shifted closer to her, interrupting her moment of peace. She closed her eyes and although initially annoyed with his pressing, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Just…" She sighed. "I don't know. It's stupid really, just a dream."

"During the mind transplant?"

"Yeah," Felicia straightened up and met his eyes with hers. "Did you have one too?"

"Well, yeah. It was kind of…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just flashes of things, images. The same thing happened in the dimensional tunnel too."

"Hmm." Felicia hummed, thinking fast.

_What had Peter seen? Did he end up in my mind too?_

She had just opened her mouth again when suddenly Peter gasped sharply. He was staring down at the police station, where the Enforcers were being taken inside. Felicia followed his gaze, searching for the source of his surprise.

"What is it?" She scanned the scene.

"It's him."

"Who?"

"Captain George Stacy," Peter pointed and then Felicia saw him. The deceased police captain of police was shepherding pedestrians away from the station's front steps. He looked younger, or at least not as aged. Felicia could barely make out his features from this height, while Peter could see him with perfect clarity thanks to his powers.

He stood up swiftly and Felicia shot out, grabbing his hand.

"No." Felicia stated.

"What?" Peter shook his hand free. "You don't even know what I'm going to do."

"You're going to go talk to him." She got to her feet and grasped him by the shoulders. "Listen to me Babe; you do not want to tug on that thread."

He shook his head, looking away from her and back down to the street below. Peter fought the urge to leap from the ledge and rush to the man who had at one point held him under arrest. It was Gwen's father, a man he respected and another person on a long list of people that he failed to save.

"I just need to tell him." Peter turned back to Felicia.

"Tell him what?"

"Just _something_," He tried to move away, but Felicia tightened her grip. "Stop it, Felicia. I promise you it will only take a second."

"Peter, I understand I really do. But you don't know anything about this place. You keep saying that we shouldn't interfere too much and then you turn around and just contradict yourself. We can't start down this road."

"You '_understand_'." Peter scoffed. "Tell me, what do you '_understand_'?"

"You want to be forgiven."

He blinked at her.

_Okay, maybe she does understand._

Peter took a deep breath and stared at Felicia. Slowly they drifted together and rested their foreheads together. He was stupid. She had just as much baggage as he did. If anyone could understand what he was feeling it was her.

"Don't we all?"

"Yeah, we do." She caught his lips then, and they wasted a good five minutes with one another. "Come on, we need to go to Oscorp." When they broke apart, Felicia pulled him away from the ledge, the police station, and Captain Stacy.

He went with her, his mind abuzz.

_"Imagine if it never happened." _At the time he had been referring to Octavius. Yet, right now Peter considered the possibilities if none of _it_ happened.

Who is still alive in this universe? How many people did not fall victim to Spider-Man's destructive crusade? There were a lot of people that came to mind, Captain Stacy and Norman Osborn to just name a few. Uncle Ben, Aunt May, even his parents might be out there somewhere. It's possible that even Gwen is out there.

Peter stiffened as the thought crossed his mind. It was a terrible notion, but there it was, irreversible. The damage was done. As Peter and his current girlfriend headed towards Oscorp, his mind was inexplicably elsewhere, with someone else, in another time.

_Imagine if it never happened._

* * *

**I started writing another story called "The Last Will". It's for the Binding of Isaac fandom, and for those of you who don't know what that is, the Binding of Isaac is an awesome indie game that I've wasted a lot of precious time playing. My story, "The Last Will" is very, very, very loosely based of the Binding of Isaac though. If you know about the game, if you're interested, or if you just want to read more of my crap, go check it out.**

**The Last Will is going to be updated whenever I need a break from the Spider-Man fandom. Simply because I have big plans for the web-swinger and I don't want to get burnt out yet. Imagine my other story as a pallet cleanser.**

**Peter and Felicia's body switch has been reversed, thank the lord. However, their relationship might not last after this adventure. You'll have to wait and see. There are probably about two more chapters in this story.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**- Mike**


	6. Part VI

**Part VI of The Voice of Reason.**

* * *

The lock popped open with a deafening _click_ and Modell froze instantly, praying silently that no one had heard the mechanism. The tension in his gut had built up so much while he was picking the lock, that when he finally succeeded in opening it, the minute _click_ had sounded like blast from a cannon. It was as if the whole world had fallen silent, waiting with baited breath for all hell to break loose.

"What are you waiting for?"

Modell screeched and jumped a foot in the air.

"Christ, Whitman!" He wheeled on his employee. "What in the name of sanity possessed you to sneak up on me like that?!"

Debra shrank away from her boss, wringing her hands and glancing nervously towards the door.

"Keep it down Maxwell, there could be guards outside." She reminded him.

"Don't call me, _Maxwell._" He hissed at her, before returning to the door.

Gliding on well-oiled hinges, the door cracked open slightly, allowing Modell a view out into the hallway. They were in the lower levels of Oscorp, he could tell that from the lack of windows. He saw a brightly lit hallway stretch out to his left. There were scorch marks and scrapes along the walls, floor, and ceiling, evidence of Felicia's earlier encounter with the security drones.

A painted sign on the wall pointed to a set of closed doors at the end of the hall.

'_A1'_. Modell read. _Laboratory A, floor 1. That's the main lab!_

He opened the door further and cautiously scooped out the rest of the corridor. The coast was clear.

"Come quickly." Modell swung the door wide and set off at a jog towards the main lab.

"Wait!" Debra caught his attention and pointed frantically towards a set of elevators. "Where are you going? The exit is over here."

"We can't leave without the hadron-collider and you said Osborn was keeping it in the main lab," He shot back; gesturing towards the doors marked 'A1'. "And that's this way."

"Screw the damn collider, Max! Osborn is a lunatic and I'm not staying here for one more second!"

She tried to make for the elevators, but Modell grabbed her forearm tightly and pulled her back.

"Get a grip, Whitman!" he shook her furiously. "You know we'll never make it home without your invention. It's just through those doors," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "We can grab the collider and be out of here in the next five minutes, but only if you act like a reasonable adult."

Debra looked like she was about to argue or cry, probably both. However, Modell glared daggers into her eyes and after a pause, she nodded feebly.

"Alright," He tugged her along. "Let's hurry this up."

"Where are the guards?" She stumbled after him, looking over her shoulder as if expecting armed men to start climbing out of the air ducts.

"Osborn probably didn't want to waste any man-power watching over a couple of nerds. No doubt we're being monitored on the cameras and security is already on the way." Modell watched whatever blood was left in Debra's face fade away and added quickly: "That's why we need to act fast."

They pushed their way through the laboratory doors and rushed out onto the floor. Sure enough, it was the same lab that they first appeared in, albeit with the addition of the hadron-collider resting in the room's center.

Modell practically threw Debra at the machine and turned to face the door, keeping watch for their inevitable visitors.

"Is it damaged?" he barked, as he shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot.

Debra quickly ran her delicate fingers over the machines surface, checking the round dome and opening and closing panels fixed into its side. She gave a mighty groan.

"Yeah, the radon coil has been smashed to bits and some of the MLP mic has been knocked loose. I could fix it… maybe."

"There's no _maybe_ about it!" Modell spotted a tool kit resting on a work bench and he retrieved it quickly. "Alright, we need to go now!"

He slung the tool kit over his shoulder and grabbed one side of the collider. Debra took the other and very awkwardly, the pair started waddling back towards the laboratory doors. Neither of the scientists were known for their physical prowess and they made it nearly six yards before their arms started to shake.

"Hold on a sec," Debra brought them to a halt as she adjusted her grip. "It's too heavy Max, I don't know if I can do this."

"It isn't that bad!" Modell lied and ushered her forward again. "And for the last time- I told you not to call me-"

The laboratory doors burst open and three security drones wedged their way inside, led by none other than Norman Osborn himself. Modell froze and was nearly pulled off his feet as Debra took her hands off the collider and thrust them into the air instead.

"Well, well, well," Osborn drawled as several of his armed men filtered inside as well, weaving between each other and the drones to get a clear view of the scientists. "You're proving to be quite a thorn in my side. I'm going to give you one last chance to tell me what that machine is."

"It's a hadron-collider." Modell said instantly. "It creates energy by- well, _colliding_ protons together at high speeds. We accidently opened up a portal-"

"Yes, I've heard quite enough of this 'alternate dimension' garbage for a life time." Osborn silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"But we're telling the truth!" Debra screamed. Her whole body shook like a leaf in the wind.

"Prove it then." Osborn demanded. "If you can't show me a shred of evidence in the next ten seconds, then I am killing you both. Or else, tell me how you managed to sneak into my private labs."

Modell opened his mouth, but closed it again just as quickly. He needed to convince Osborn of the truth or either come up with a lie for how they managed to get inside Oscorp. Either way seemed impossible and the third option of death seemed all the more likely every passing second.

He dimly registered that Osborn was slowly counting down to zero. What would happen when he ran out of numbers? Surely he wouldn't have the both of them killed on the spot. Their secrets would die with them and the collider would be rendered useless without Debra. Osborn wasn't stupid, he needed them alive.

However, as Modell found his gaze met by Osborn, he felt his stomach clench up like a vice. There was no mercy in those eyes, no chance for escape. Osborn was taking some sick pleasure in watching Debra squirm and Modell desperately search for a way out. There was no rhyme to Norman Osborn, no voice of reason. The last thing Max Modell would see would be those cold, dark eyes glaring at him above a wide grin.

Osborn would kill the scientists and interrogate Peter and Felicia once the enforcers had captured them. In his mind, everything was under control.

It's strange how the mind wanders in times of immense stress. Modell found himself transported years into the past. It was his honeymoon and he and his new wife were enjoying wine on the balcony outside of their hotel room. They would get a divorce, of course, once Modell got his promotion at Horizon Labs and started spending more time in the office than at home. His job was never more important to him than family. Others didn't necessarily think that was the case.

It was almost funny how, in a roundabout way, it would be his job at Horizon Labs that brought about his death.

_Horizon Labs._

Modell shot his hand into his pocket and instantly all of Osborn's men leveled their rifles at him. The security drones twisted their heads and rested their glowing red eyes on his chest, ready to blast him away at the drop of a hat.

"No! Wait!" Modell raised his free hand as he dug around in his pocket with the other. "I have something!"

Osborn did not order his men to lower their weapons. Instead he regarded Modell coolly as the scientist scampered forward and presented a crumpled business card to him. Osborn took the card from Modell's shaking hand and examined it slowly.

"Maxwell M. Modell," Osborn read aloud "Lead Scientist, R and D, Horizon Laboratories." He smirked at Modell and raised his eyebrows slowly. "I've never heard of you or Horizon Laboratories."

"That's because," Modell swallowed hard. "Horizon Labs only exists-"

"In an alternated dimension," Osborn finished for him, grinning widely. "How impressive. This really is some compelling evidence you've given me."

The sarcasm wasn't missed on Modell, who made to defend himself further, but Osborn silenced him with a raised hand.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Osborn demanded. "_Anyone _can make a business card, which says _anything._ I've had it with you people. You've wasted too much of my time and resources. I believe we are done here."

He nodded to his security team and Debra let out an earsplitting shriek. Modell turned to his employee ready to comfort her in her final moments. However, she wasn't looking at Modell. She wasn't even looking at Osborn, or the drones, or guards. She was watching two people climb from an air duct set up high on the wall.

At Debra's scream all eyes followed her line of sight and stared up as the newcomers stared down at them.

"Well then," Peter sighed. "So much for the element of surprise."

He leapt from the duct and fired a bio-cable into the ceiling. The guards and drones opened fire on him as he descended, but he was a blur of movement, avoiding all shots with practiced ease. As Peter kicked the first guard across the lab and webbed up another, Modell grabbed Debra and flattened her to the ground. Bullets and laser bolts whizzed over their head as Peter easily tore both man and machine apart.

A pair of hands grabbed Modell by the collar and hauled him to his feet. He prepared himself to lash out and defend himself. If he was going to die, he would fight to his last breath.

"Get your ass moving, old man." Felicia shoved him towards the collider. "I need your help with this thing."

Modell didn't need to be told twice. He and Felicia hefted the hadron-collider between them and started towards the laboratory doors as the battle waged around them. As they passed, Felicia kicked Debra roughly in the side, causing the other girl to yelp in pain.

"Come on, _Blondie._ We're leaving."

Debra crawled on her hands and knees after them, wheezing slightly and clutching at where Felicia had struck her. They were almost to the doors. It would only be another second before they were out in the safety of the hallway, just a few more feet.

A security drone landed in a heap next to Debra and skidded forward to rest at Modell's feet. He and Felicia were busy carrying the collider and did not notice the robot spark violently.

"Max, look out!" Debra yelled a second too late as the drone exploded.

* * *

Peter flipped over a guard and crouched behind him, sweeping with his leg and knocking the guard's own out from under him. Peter was on the move again before the man's head even collided with the hard ground

_It's like Christmas morning! _Peter couldn't help but grin as he slid between a security drone's legs and tripped it up. He was still running off the high of getting his powers back and probably enjoyed wailing on the defenseless security team a little too much.

As the drone fell, he leapt up and spun in the air, kicking the drone across the room like a soccer ball. Peter winced as the robot nearly crushed Debra and swore as it exploded next to his boss and girlfriend.

_You're getting carried away, Parker you idiot!_

"Max!" Peter took one step forward, about to rush to his friend's aid, when suddenly time slowed down for him. His spider-sense was going hay wire.

He whipped his head around and registered a flurry of bullets on a collision course with his head. He had thought it was a security guard, but he quickly realized that it was someone far more threatening. Peter leapt straight up and over the barrage of lead death, flipping over to his attacker and ripping the gun out of Norman Osborn's hands.

"Thought you could get in a cheap shot, Osborn?" Peter snarled. He grabbed the billionaire by the neck and hoisted him into the air. It was so very tempting to apply just the smallest amount of pressure and crush Osborn's throat like a tin can. After all, he had already killed one Norman Osborn. Why not one more?

He could hear Felicia calling for him and Debra's high pitched squeals. Peter swallowed hard and brought Osborn's face close to his own.

"You're lucky." Was all he said before flinging Osborn away from him with more than a little excessive force. No one dies, after all.

Peter web-zipped over to Felicia and saw that she was crouching over Modell.

"What happened? Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He got some goo on him." Felicia pointed to where a stack of boxes had been knocked over by the explosion, spilling their contents onto the floor and over the scientist.

Peter felt his icy claws wrap around his heart. The only goo he had ever known to reside in a laboratory and the only one that truly worried him, had been the symbiote. However, a quick look at Modell's shirt proved that it wasn't stained black with venom, but red. At first Peter thought it was blood, but it wasn't as dark or thick, nevertheless the sight of it made Peter shiver involuntarily.

"Don't touch it." Peter snapped as Debra moved to wipe some of the goo from Modell's forehead. "We don't know what it is."

"All the more reason to get it _off_ of him." She pleaded as she wrung her hands once more.

Despite her frequent arguments with her boss and his notoriously short temper with her, Debra would be stricken if Modell was injured gravely. Peter cast about to room.

"Let me see your coat." He held his hand out to Felicia.

"Hell no," She crossed her arms, protecting her precious leather jacket from any further snatching attempts. "Use your shirt."

"I need it though."

"But it's already ruined."

"Yeah, but I don't have anything else. I can't run around without a shirt on."

"Now's a good time to worry about modesty."

"You're one to talk."

"Just use this!" Debra interjected forcefully, quickly snapping off her lab coat and tossing it at Peter unceremoniously. "God, I swear you two act like an old married couple."

Both Peter and Felicia grimaced at her words and an odd awkwardness settled over the group as Peter cleaned Modell to the best of his abilities. He then discarded the stained coat and hefted his boss onto his back, careful to prevent any of the red ooze from getting on his skin.

"Grab that," He nodded to the collider. "And let's get out of here."

Debra groaned and joined Felicia in hefting up her invention once more. They made their way from the lab and set off towards the elevators at a quick pace.

"So, you must have a lot of questions." Felicia shot at Debra as they maneuvered the machine into the elevator. Felicia had no problem holding up a steady jog and a conversation at the same time. Debra, on the other hand, was losing strength fast.

"Not really," Debra gasped as they rested the collider on the floor as they ascended. "You and Peter somehow switched back, which I'm positive you will explain later. And Peter is Spider-Man."

"What?!" Felicia asked, a little too incredulous. "What are you talking about? Peter isn't Spider-Man."

"Yeah he is." Debra smirked, finally feeling confident for the first time in a long time. "He fought off like a hundred dudes back there, he's carrying Mr. Modell like a sack of flour instead of a full grown man, and do I need to bring up the impressive web-work he used during the fight?"

"Impressive?" Peter echoed, smiling despite himself. "You think my '_web-work_' is impressive?"

"Naturally, after I got over the initial shock of realizing your identity, I could appreciate your skill." Debra pushed her glasses further up her nose and continued. "So what are your webs exactly? It's got to be come kind of pressurized fluid, am I right?"

"Yeah, it's called bio-cable. A good friend of mine invented it."

"Interesting, it has to be a compound of some sort. No doubt it dissolves after a while."

"Well yeah, but I don't really use it for long-term stuff."

"I'd be interested to see the formula."

"I bet you would be."

"Oh come one Pete," Debra pleaded. "I could really help you to improve it."

"_Improve it_?" Connors had invented the bio-cables and as far as Peter was concerned, they were damn near perfect, although sympathy for his old friend might have skewed his judgement "I appreciate the offer, but I think the less people involved with the whole Spider-Man thing, the better."

Felicia snorted and Peter shot her a look. He knew what she was thinking: if he had a nickel for everyone who was '_involved with the whole Spider-Man thing',_ Peter would have a lot of fucking nickels. The number of people aware of his secret identity was skyrocketing at an alarming rate. It was kind of disturbing.

"Listen, Debra." said Peter, getting serious suddenly. "It's very important that you keep my identity a secret, Modell too."

The female scientist rolled her eyes towards the heavens and shot Peter a wry grin.

"Come on, Peter. It's obvious that you don't want anyone to know." She giggled. "You can trust me."

Peter instinctively looked towards Felicia, so that they could share one of those silent, exasperated looks. However, his girlfriend was oddly interested in the fingernails on her left hand at the moment and avoided his eyes. Peter frowned.

"Is everything alright?" He bumped her gently with his elbow.

She nodded quickly and pointed at the elevator display, which showed that they were quickly approaching the ground floor.

"We should get ready to move."

Debra and Felicia re-assumed their positions on either side of the collider, whilst Peter gripped Modell more tightly.

"Alright, when the doors open, head straight for the exit. Felicia and I left a truck out there that we can take."

"Where are we going?" Debra asked.

"Not far, just to a friend's house." In a few seconds the doors would open. "Just try not to draw attention to us, okay? Act like we know what we're doing and we should get through the lobby no problem."

"Sure, no problem." Felicia scoffed as the elevator dinged.

* * *

The doorbell rang once, twice, three times, until finally they could hear the shuffle of footsteps, a swift curse, and the click of a lock.

"Oh shit!" Curt Connors tried vainly to shut the door in Felicia's face; unfortunately she wasn't much in the mood for any shenanigans. Even without Peter's powers, she overpowered Connors quickly and flung the door open.

Peter rushed into the house and deposited Modell on the living room sofa, while Felicia returned to help Debra carry the collider across the threshold.

"Whoa, whoa guys!" Connors complained as he clambered back to his feet. "You can't be here; I got people coming over in a bit."

"Well you better cancel your plans," Peter called from the kitchen, where he was rummaging through drawers. "This is important."

"What the hell is that?" Connors jabbed a finger at the collider as it was set in front of his television.

Felicia glared at Debra.

"You explain, I'm done." The brunette stalked away, leaving Debra to bring Connors up to speed.

Felicia joined Peter in the kitchen. He was grabbing spare rags and filling a glass with water from the sink. She ignored him and scanned the kitchen, her face splitting into a grin when she spotted what she was looking for, resting atop the fridge. Peter saw Felicia swipe the bottle of whiskey and make for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He called after her, but she didn't answer. Shaking his head, Peter returned to the living room where Connors and Debra were deep in conversation.

"… So then, Peter and Felicia show up and Peter fights all of the robots and guards and stuff, while Felicia and Max try to take the collider, but then Max gets knocked into the boxes and covered in this stuff…"

"Whoa, what stuff?!" Connors wheeled on Peter and pointed to Modell. "He better not get any shit on couch."

"Shut up." Peter snapped. He was getting frustrated now, the excitement of being reunited with his powers was wearing off and the situation was starting to weigh on him again. Modell was unconscious, Felicia was being moody, and Connors was being just about as unhelpful as possible. Peter needed room to think.

_One thing at a time._

"Debra," Peter slid the tool kit, which Modell had taken, over to her. "Start working on the collider. Connors, make yourself scarce. I don't want us to be interrupted."

Connors looked like he was about to argue, but something in Peter's glare caused him to fall silent.

"Fine, whatever!" He threw his hands in the air and walked from the room. "I guess you and your little girlfriend switched back, you're welcome by the way!"

Peter wasn't listening though; he was tending to Modell, making sure that all of the mysterious red goo was gone. He was brooding, so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice when Modell stirred.

"Max." Peter helped his boss into the sitting position. "How are you feeling?"

Modell's eyes roved over the living room, Debra huddled over the collider, and then finally onto Peter.

"What happened?" He coughed.

Peter snatched the glass of water he had prepared and handed it to Modell, as the man started a fit of coughing.

"We got out," Peter kept his position, kneeling in front of Modell and watching him anxiously. "But you got exposed to something in the lab, you passed out. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Modell coughed once more. "I feel fine, just a little…" Then his head dipped forward, rested on his chest, and he fell asleep. The glass of water tumbled from his hand and splashed onto the carpet. Peter checked his pulse, made sure he wasn't actually dead, and then stood up.

_Modell is alright. Next on the list._

"Can you fix it?" He shot a Debra, dragging a hand down his face.

"Sure, it's going to take some time though. I could use some extra hands, though." She had pried open one of the side panels and was sticking her head inside the device.

"Alright, just…" Peter looked towards the stairs. "Just give me a second, okay?"

* * *

He found her in the bathroom, sitting on the counter next to the sink and tossing back great swallows of alcohol. Peter shut the door with enough noise to announce his presence, rested his back against the hard wood, and waited. It was a full minute before she spoke.

"I needed… a drink." Felicia held up the bottle, showing him.

"What's going on, Felicia?"

"Nothing-"

"Ever since the 'mind transplant', you've been… upset. What happened?"

She shook her head and raised the bottle again. Peter reached over and flicked on the bathroom lights, illuminating the small space. Instantly, he noticed the two lines of tears trailing down her slender face, parallel to the shiny scar on her cheek.

Peter resisted the urge to groan and face-palm. This was the last thing he needed.

"Felicia-" He began, taking a step forward.

"I'm fine!" Felicia snapped, wiping her face furiously on her sleeve and sniffing heavily. "I just need to be alone right now."

He paused mid-step and watched her just sit there. She was avoiding his eyes and clutching the bottle so tightly in her hands that Peter feared it would break.

_I should talk to her. _He reasoned. _I should make her tell me what's wrong._

But then, Peter nodded and turned to leave.

"There you go!" Felicia suddenly screamed, causing him to jump and whip around. "If I was Mary-Jane Fucking Watson, you wouldn't leave me alone!"

Peter was stuck dumb.

"Wha-"

"I know I'm not _her_, Peter, but you can't even pretend, can you?! I don't know what I have to do to make you love me! I've done everything!"

"What are you talking about?!" He found his voice suddenly and stared towards her, hands outstretched. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm dead serious!" She shouted. "I saw inside your head back at Octavius's lab. I know how you feel about her and I know that I don't mean _shit_ to you!"

"Are we really going to do this now?!" Peter could feel anger welling up inside of him. "We've both had a terrible day, Felicia. If you want some peace and quiet for a while, then that's fine, but luring me up here to '_test my loyalty_'or something- is really immature."

"You want to talk about _maturity_?" She leapt lightly off the counter and faced him fully. "How about you man up, Peter, either tell me that you love me right here, right now or just dump me already, because I can't take it anymore!"

"I can't believe this!" He broke down and slapped both of his hands over his eyes. "You are so… so-"

"What am I?!"

"Unbelievable!"

"Just say it dammit! I know you're trying to change the subject, but I won't let you. Give me a straight answer for once, please!"

"What do you want me to say?!"

"Do you love me or not!"

"I-" Peter's mouth hung open, but no more words came out. It was as if his brain was shutting down on him. His vision started to blur.

"You don't love me, do you?" She sounded very far away, as if she was underwater.

Peter didn't want to respond, he couldn't trust himself. He wished that she would just drop it and let him go downstairs to help Debra.

"It's okay, it's okay…"

He felt her arms wrap around his middle and her head came to rest on his shoulder. It was then that Peter noticed that he was shaking horribly. He buried his nose in her short hair and closed his eyes. A wet patch was forming on his shoulder and he knew it was her tears.

"Peter, it's alright."

He could tell that she was dying inside. She kept talking under her breath, soft words that were the complete opposite of the shouts she'd given mere seconds before. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to hurt her.

Peter wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to him. It was an awkward fit, her sharp shoulders dug into his chest and his chin bumped against her nose. They kissed anyway though. It wasn't sweet or loving, but desperate and hopeless.

_She tastes like tears._

They broke apart and separated slowly.

"We need to break up." Felicia croaked and then covered her face with her hands. She couldn't hide behind those slender fingers though. It was too late.

Peter swallowed hard. It was difficult for his Adam's apple to move around the lump in his throat.

"I don't… Felicia, I don't want to."

"We need to."

He looked away from her and tried frantically to find something in the small bathroom to stare at. However, there was nothing worthwhile besides her.

They were silent for a while, save for her occasional, half-hearted sob. It was pitiful really and for the first time in his life, Peter wished that he had lied. It would have been so much easier.

"I'm sorry." He managed.

She didn't tell him that it was _okay_ anymore, that everything was _alright._ Felicia just shook her head and leaned back against the counter once more.

When he came back downstairs, he saw Connors, Debra, and Modell all whip their heads away from the stairs and pretend to look busy with something. He acted as if he didn't notice. Of course they had heard every single word.

"How can I help?" He made a beeline for Debra.

"I got it." She answered, not looking up from her work.

"I wanna help."

"I got it."

He sighed and looked around to the others. Connors was sitting in a recliner and reading the packaging of a DVD over and over again. Modell had his eyes closed and was resting his head on his elbow, but Peter could tell by the uneven rise and fall of his chest, that he wasn't sleeping.

Another wave of anger washed over him. His talk with Felicia had left him feeling deflated and empty, but now, staring at his friends and watching them act like everything was normal made him want to scream and shout all over again.

"I'm taking a walk."

He slammed the door behind him.

* * *

His _walk_ found him about four miles away and fifty feet straight up. Peter dangled his legs over the edge of the building and simply watched the full moon stare back at him from overhead. For the first time, in a long time, his mind was completely and utterly blank. He kind of liked it.

Being Spider-Man had been a veritable roller-coaster, taking his life to new heights and to extreme lows. It was the big things that he remembered most clearly: fighting villains, saving lives, hurting friends. However, as he sat on that rooftop, letting the breeze tousle his shaggy hair, Peter truly appreciated the small things that his powers bought him.

"You can't beat the view." He said to no one.

Peter leaned back and watched the night drift around him. His eyes rolled over the nearby buildings and their glowing windows. It was then that he noticed where he had ended up, completely subconsciously. He leapt to his feet and squinted across the street. Sure enough, his old apartment building was completely unchanged and his eyes came to rest on the window that was undeniably his.

_Ours._

In a haze, Peter leapt from the roof, crossed the street, and jogged up the front steps of his old apartment building. The lobby, front desk, landlady, were all the same. He didn't speak to anyone or stop to examine anything though. Peter walked straight towards the elevators.

His hand rose and his finger was an inch away from the button, when the doors opened anyways. He froze like a statue.

_There's no way. This can't be a coincidence._

There she was, except, not really. She looked up at him and their eyes met. For one pulse-pounding second, Peter was sure that she would smile and rush into his arms. Then she stepped around him and tugging a man Peter didn't know by the arm, disappeared out the front doors.

Peter stayed frozen for the next few minutes playing everything that had just happened over and over in his head again. Her hair was shorter and some of it had been dyed green, her make-up was far heavier, and her clothes were dark and worn. There was no headband, lip gloss, pink sweater, or skirt. It wasn't her, it was someone else.

Then there was that guy whose hand she had been holding. It wasn't him. It wasn't anyone Peter had ever seen before. The way he had followed her like some kind of loss puppy made Peter sick. They looked so happy together, the perfect little punk-rock couple.

What had he expected? For her to be exactly the same? Was she supposed to have invited him up for dinner? He was a fool to have come here, a complete and total idiot. First Felicia and now this? He felt betrayed by… something.

Nevertheless, as Peter sulked back towards Connor's house, a small smile tugged at his lips.

_She was happy._

* * *

**It's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been sitting on this chapter, reading it, fixing it, completely re-writing it, but it always ends up about the same. Peter and Felicia are done, which really sucks as I think they are my favorite couple and I really enjoyed working with their relationship. Their story doesn't end here though. There should be only one more chapter left in this story.**

**Shout out to Ultimate Gwen Stacy shoe-horned in there. That's for me more than anything else.**

**So The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came out last week and I really liked it. I mean, sure there were a lot of things that made me cringe, but there were also a lot of things that made me flip shit with nerd nostalgia and excitement. TASM2 is absolutely setting up for future films, which gets me all excited. **

**Emma Stone might also be the hottest woman on the planet. Just saying. (so hot)**

**Thanks for reading.**

**- Mike**

**P.S. The esteemed FanFiction author 'nine miles to go' has started another awesome story called "Birds of a Feather". If you are a fan of Spidey, good fanfiction, or excellent writing you really should go check it out. (along with all of her previous work)**


	7. Part VII - End

**Part VII of The Voice of Reason.**

* * *

Peter jogged up the front steps of Connors's home with a clear head. For the first time in what felt like ages, he felt focused, confident, and determined. He was going to set things straight.

_She was tired and confused. _He reasoned. _She didn't know what she was saying. We both just needed a chance to cool down, and now we're going to work things out._

It had been a silly notion to think that Felicia would break up with him just like that. They had been through too much, formed a bond that Peter shared with no one else. She loved him more than anything, had laid her life down on his behalf for more than one occasion. They're relationship wasn't over. He would make her see reason.

Love, he would explain, wasn't something Peter felt right now. He could admit that. However, that didn't mean that he would never return Felicia's strong feelings. Love couldn't be found like some rock in the middle of the road, it was more like a seed, one that needed to be planted and nurtured before it could bear fruit. Peter and Felicia just needed more time. He needed to make her understand.

He could remember how she had clung to him; as if afraid he might float away if she loosened her grip. Felicia had said that she needed him. She had been there for him after Gwen, during the fight with Smythe and the Spider-Slayers, through his ordeal with the Venom, and even now on this stupid, backwards, inter-dimensional jaunt. She was jealous of MJ, she always had been. He could make her see that there was nothing between him and MJ, that he was loyal to her and her alone.

It had sounded so simple in his head.

She was leaning against the far wall when he came in, her arms crossed. The skin above her cheeks was still red and her face was still white, but her cold, blue eyes were as hard as ever. She didn't look pretty or friendly. Felicia was tired, hungry, and more than a little pissed off. Peter felt his well-planned words die in his throat before they even had a chance to be spoken. The moment their eyes locked, he knew it was over.

They exchanged a curt nod and Peter sank into a chair in the corner, avoiding everyone else's gaze. He was prepared to sit through a long and drawn out awkward silence, although it seemed Felicia had other ideas. She straightened up and disappeared into the kitchen. A second before she turned away, Peter thought he saw her lower lip tremble, but he prayed it was just a trick of the light.

The moment she exited the room, Peter felt another wave of anger roll through his stomach, this time directed at himself.

_Get off your ass and go talk to her you idiot!_

Peter stayed firmly rooted in his uncomfortable wooden chair. A furious battle waged inside of him. He should definitely go and try to win her back, or at least talk and smooth things over. It was all too easy to talk himself up without her in the room. He could tell that as soon as they were face to face once again, he would be unable to choke out the words. No matter what, he couldn't lie straight to Felicia. She deserved better than that. It didn't matter what they did or how long they waited, Peter would never love Felicia. He hated himself suddenly, with a powerful intensity.

MJ had been right all those months ago: Peter had just been using Felicia. Without out malicious intent of course, but it didn't make a difference. Felicia still ended up hurt.

Peter had used her to get over Gwen, and after Felicia had dumped him, he had gone straight back to Gwen. The problem was: Gwen wasn't there anymore. Peter had never felt more alone than he did right then, sitting in that chair in that shoddy version of Curt Connors's living room.

_No Gwen, no Harry, no Aunt May, Uncle Ben, mom or dad._

And now: no Felicia.

Peter probably would have sat there feeling sorry for himself for a long time, if it had not been for Modell. The scientist coughed once, demanding Peter's attention.

"So uh," Modell coughed again. "How long have you been Spider-Man?"

It was such an unexpected question, with such a casual delivery, that Peter found himself smiling.

_Well if Debra knows, it only makes sense that he does too. The jig is up… again._

"Since I was in high school." Peter answered truthfully.

Modell nodded thoughtfully and Connors, who had been examining the same DVD case as when Peter left earlier, perked up at their exchange.

"Spider-Man," He repeated curiously. "What's that? Something from your dimension?"

"Sure, why not." Peter wasn't much in the mood for explaining. He addressed, both Modell and Debra this time. "It's very important that neither of you tell _anyone_ that I'm Spider-Man."

"Why not? Couldn't you do more good if you went public with your identity?" Modell asked.

_Well at least he's not part of the "Spider-Man is a menace" camp._

"I don't know if that's true. What I do know is that Spider-Man has enemies and that means that if too many people know who I am, it could put people I care about in danger. It's already happened actually."

_People I care about… Whose left?_

Only one name came to mind and Peter felt instantly ashamed. Felicia had been right about him, she always had been.

Debra was trying to speak, but it was hard to understand what she was saying, as she was shoved halfway inside of the collider fiddling with some wires.

"Sorry, Miss Whitman, didn't quite catch that." Modell said.

"I said," Debra began, retrieving her head from her invention. "Is that why you disappeared a while back? You were dealing with Spider-Man stuff?"

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, I just had some… stuff," He rubbed the back of his neck. "And… things."

Debra opened her mouth, most likely to ask for clarification, but Modell jumped in. He may have been the oldest person in the room, but Modell could remember something hearing about the death of Peter's girlfriend late last year.

"Who else knows?" He asked quickly, interrupting Debra.

"Well…" Peter stopped. He was about to say Felicia, when his throat tightened painfully. "A lot of people." He croaked. "People, I think can be trusted." He glanced between his co-workers.

_And some whose level of trust is debatable at best. _He added silently.

Modell caught his drift.

"You can trust us, Peter." He shot a pointed look at Debra and she quickly agreed.

"Of course!" She bobbed her head furiously.

"Alright then," Peter stood up and dusted off his pants. He was feeling somewhat lighter and he didn't fight the grin that twisted his features. "How long until we can get out of her Deb?"

The female scientist gave an exasperated sigh at the nickname, but in a rare display of tact, she held her tongue. No sense in ruining Peter's steadily improving mood.

"Not long," She said. "Come over here and hold the light steady, would you?"

* * *

With both Peter and Debra working to fix the hadron-collider, it was little over an hour before Debra declared it effectively repaired. The work had been good for Peter. It was something to do and it served beautifully in keeping his mind occupied.

He spent a few moments appreciating the craftsmanship put into the collider. Say what you will about Debra Whitman, she was a genius. It was almost a shame that Peter planned on having the collider destroyed after their return and everything was back to normal. No doubt Debra would put up a fight, but the machine was just too dangerous to be just left lying around.

Felicia did not return from the kitchen and it was only the occasional, muted sob that assured Peter she was still in the building. He was still working up the courage to say something to her. Though their relationship might be unsalvageable, there was still the chance that they could part on good terms. It seemed important to Peter that he kept Felicia close by. She had proven useful, fighting by his side and providing him with useful Intel. Other than that, he knew how self-destructive she could be. Felicia was about as far away from a social butterfly as you could get. Without Peter's influence, who knew where she would run off to? She was just as alone as he was.

Peter cursed himself again for the umpteenth time. Here he was, one second resigned and accepting of their break up, and the next: thinking of reasons that they should stay together. His life was complicated enough as it was and he started to feel a little annoyance at Felicia for causing such a mess at such a hectic time.

He stood up and stretched his back, groaning as several joints popped agreeably.

"I'm starting to feel my age." Peter smirked at Debra as she bolted shut a panel on the side of the collider.

"That's not funny." She responded, and sure enough, her face was uncharacteristically passive.

He quirked an eyebrow.

_Hmm…_

Peter stared at the side of Debra's head for a while, waiting patiently. It happened soon enough. She turned slightly, gazing at him out of the corner of her eye, before whipping her head back to her work, sending her pony-tail flailing.

He resisted the urge to groan once more, this time from annoyance. He didn't want Debra's sidelong glances and awkward smiles. She was… attractive… kinda, but Peter didn't consider himself available just yet, least of all to one Debra Whitman.

_Well she sort of is the polar opposite of Felicia. Talkative, loud, obnoxious, weak, know-it-all._

Peter shook himself. He would have to stamp out those embers quickly.

"Okay," Debra flicked a switch and the collider hummed to life. "Everyone get ready to travel!"

Modell, who had fallen asleep again on the couch, jumped violently at her shout. He looked around frantically, clutching at his heart and sweating profusely.

"When we get back," Peter frowned at him. "You're going to the hospital."

"And tell them what?" Modell gasped and started quickly cleaning his glasses with his sleeve. "That I got exposed to an experiment at Oscorp, when I was in an alternate dimension by the way?" He raised his voice when Peter looked like he was about to cut in. "I'm fine, Peter really. I'll run some tests when we get back at Horizon, just to be safe though, okay?"

Peter reluctantly agreed. He could recognize a lost cause when he saw one. He would just have to keep a close eye on Modell for the next few days, make sure that he was truly '_okay_'.

"So this is it then?" Connors rose from his seat and faced them. "You guys are gonna jet?"

"Yeah, this is it." Peter extended his hand. Connors took it, but instead of shaking and letting go, Peter held him firm. "Look, Connors. You have a lot of potential to be someone… good. Get your shit straight."

He released him and Connors took a step back, looking at Peter quizzically. Eventually, he nodded and turned away from Peter to say his goodbyes to the two scientists. Peter found his eyes drawn to the door that led to the kitchen.

_Well, here goes._

Overcoming the ridiculous urge to knock, he pushed the door open. Felicia was curled up on the counter, like she had been upstairs. Peter was uncomfortably reminded of some feral cat preparing to pounce on some unsuspecting insect. Good thing he was an arachnid… right?

Her head snapped up when he entered and their eyes met. Peter felt a cold shiver travel down his back. It was odd to him, how not an hour ago, seeing Felicia would have made him feel happy, secure. Now it just made him uncomfortable.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Are we all set then?" She asked. Her face now had the all the qualities of a statue.

"Yeah," He moved aside as she made for the door. "Look, can we just…"

Felicia didn't stop walking, ignoring him completely and leaving him alone in the kitchen. Peter gritted his teeth and trudged after her, staring daggers into the back of her head. He felt like a child, whose fickle emotions flickered between confidence, insecurity, and anger over the span of a few minutes. A small part of his brain worried that some of Felicia's female-mood-swing genes had transferred along with him, back into his own body. There was an unpleasant thought.

He found Modell, Debra, and Felicia already crowded around the collider, as Debra made the final preparations. Connors stood against the wall, mildly interested in what was about to happen.

"So what are the odds that we end up in a completely new, third dimension?" Debra smirked, flicking a few more switches. "Anyone wanna place bets?"

No one laughed. It wasn't very funny.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Modell took a few steadying breaths. "You two," He jabbed a finger at both Peter and Felicia in turn. "Hands to yourselves when we get in the dimensional tunnel, we don't want to risk another body switch. I also would like to hear how you managed to switch back. I'm sure it's quite the story."

"Over drinks, Mr. Modell." Peter clapped him on the shoulder and took up position between him and Felicia. He took one last look at Connors, his old friend… kinda. "You might want to stand back." He advised, remembering the hectic, wind-blown mess caused by the opening of the dimensional tunnel in Horizon Labs.

At the thought of Horizon Labs, a new concern stuck him: shouldn't they be opening up the portal at Oscorp? That was where they had arrived in the first place, after all. It only made sense that they should go out the way they came in, but before he could even open his mouth, Debra pressed a final button.

The hadron collider beeped and whirred. There was a loud _bang_, the ground shook, and then Peter was falling.

* * *

It was exactly as he remembered. Debra was screaming shrilly, the wind howled in his ears, and there was that strange sense of disembodiment. The feeling of heat and warmth still radiated from somewhere to his right, but he avoided it now. He knew that it was Felicia and that if he passed though it again, he would not only be assaulted with fragments of her memories, but risk swapping bodies with her again.

He forced himself to relax and not allow the oppressing blackness and lack of movement or control rattle him. The experience was far from enjoyable, but a lot more bearable the second time around. Not too much time passed before he saw the blinding, white light rush up to him once more.

Peter felt his feet slam into solid ground and his knees buckled quite against his will. It was nighttime, he could tell that much as they were now outside. He lay on his back, with the sky stretched large, dark, and impressive above him. He knew at once that they had, in fact, returned to their own dimension. He knew exactly where they were.

Sitting up, Peter looked around at the ruined lot that had once been the Connors's home. It had been destroyed in his fight with Venom and was now blocked off with strips of yellow tape and a few traffic cones. There were piles of splintered wood and heaps of broken bricks; nothing had survived the collapse, not even the sturdy chimney.

He examined his hands. The fingers were long, thin, and entirely his. He was still in his own body, of course, having not interacted with Felicia in the dimensional tunnel.

There was supposed to be some sense of accomplishment, right? He had accomplished something by closing the portal connecting the two worlds and returning home. However, instead of feeling elated or even happy, Peter just felt tired.

A series of grunts and coughs to his left confirmed that Modell had also survived the trip.

"Peter? Miss Whitman, are you alright?" Modell stumbled to his feet and rushed to his employees. "How is the machine?"

"It's fine, I think." Debra was unsteady, but upright none the less. "We need to get to back to Horizon and make sure that the portal there is closed."

"Agreed, Peter I need you over here." Modell picked up one end of the collider, while Peter took the other. Together they lifted it from the ruins of the house and brought it out onto the sidewalk. "We can carry it from here. The lab is only a few blocks away."

"Where are we by the way?" Debra joined them and pointed towards the lot. "What happened to this house?"

Peter didn't answer, but instead looked over to a spot on the front lawn. The grass was ripped up and deep gouges were dug though the dirt. He could vividly remember lying there, in MJ's arms, about to die. Felicia had fought Venom by herself then. She had saved his life.

"Where is she?" Peter blurted suddenly.

"Who?"

"Felicia," He snarled, glaring at Debra. "The woman who's been with us since this whole thing started! The same one whom we'd never have made it back without!"

The female scientist recoiled from his shouts, muttered something like '_the scary woman_', and pointed over his shoulder. Peter whirled around and saw a familiar silhouette walking steadily away from them down the street.

Without a word, Peter dropped his end of the collider and dashed after her. In a second, he was in front of her.

"Where the hell are you going?" He demanded.

"I'm going to the apartment, I'm packing a bag, and I'm going to a hotel. I'll get the rest of my stuff tomorrow." Felicia had her eyes firmly locked with a spot somewhere between her shoes.

Peter gaped at her, caught completely off guard.

"No." He said. "You're coming with us to the lab and then you and I are going home, _together._"

"Peter…" She blinked quickly and finally met his eyes. Tears glistened like flecks of light in her gaze. "I'm breaking up with you."

"This doesn't make any sense." He reached for her, but she stepped out of his reach. "You said that you loved me."

"I do, so very much… but I can't keep doing this. You and I…"

"Aren't you happy!?" Peter cut her off. "I'm _happy_ Felicia, why can't you be too?"

"I'm trying, Peter. I really am, but you aren't... you can't." She seemed to be struggling with something. It was like she was wrestling with some impossible problem that refused to be solved or ignored. "I love you so much, Peter. You were there for me. You saw me as… more."

"We can make this work." He insisted. "I can't tell you that I love you, but we can still make this work. I'm happy, Felicia."

"No you aren't! Can't you see?!" Her eyes flashed dangerously and tears flowed freely down her cheeks, collecting along her jaw. "You don't want _me_! I love you and the only way to make you _happy_, is to let you go!"

"No! That's stupid, Felicia. That's…"

"…the truth." She wiped angrily at her eyes. "Goodbye, Peter Parker."

He needed to say something, anything that would make her understand that she was wrong. He needed her. She couldn't just _leave_. That wasn't what was supposed to happen. However, no more words were spoken.

Felicia stepped around him and walked away. Peter remained frozen on the spot for a second, and then slowly he turned and watched her fade away into the night.

* * *

Peter sank into his office chair some time later. They had returned to the lab and made sure the portal was actually closed. Modell had then dismissed Peter, telling him to go home and get some rest. The collider was set to be destroyed, much to Debra's chagrin, and… that was that. The first earthquake that had rocked the city with the portal was opened had put a dent in some traffic, broken a few windows, and was dismissed as quickly as it had arrived. The world was still turning and dawn was fast approaching. Peter, although, didn't really care.

His office was exactly the same as when he had left it. The only explanation for how much he disliked the space now was that: _he_ was what had changed. Felicia's bowl of soup was still on the floor and Peter couldn't bring himself to pick it up and throw it away.

Peter sighed; it really was late in night, or early in the morning, or whatever. He should go home and get some sleep, god knew he deserved it. However, the prospect of returning home to his apartment, with its empty bed and Felicia's missing suitcase, did not seem appealing in the least.

Resolving to at least get a hotel of his own, Peter grabbed his suitcase from the floor and clicked it open. His suit was folded neatly in the bottom, along with a few loose files and tubes of web-fluid. He took out his cell phone and flicked it open. He had six missed calls and fourteen text messages waiting for him.

"What the...?" Peter opened his voice mail and raised the phone to his ear.

"Hey Tiger, it's MJ. Did you notice that earthquake earlier? It's crazy, right? I didn't even know we could get stuff like that around here. I hope you're alright. Anyways, the reason I called is, maybe if you aren't too busy later, maybe you would swing by my place? This effing kid is driving me up the wall! I have no idea what to do with the brat. Just, call me when you get the chance, alright? Bye."

A slow smile tugged at Peter's lips. He checked the next message and, upon seeing that it was also from MJ, pressed play.

* * *

**Well that's the end of that. I have mixed feelings about this story, but in the end, I'm glad I wrote it. Peter and Felicia have broken up, which isn't a surprise in the least. I have been mentioning it in pretty much all of my AN's for the last few months. That was more for me than anything. I really had to talk myself into ending their relationship, because honestly I really didn't want to. They've been my favorite couple so far. However, shit happens and the story is still going to progress.**

**I'll be updating TMR next, so be on the lookout for that if you are interested. The next arc is pretty cool in my opinion.**

**Thanks to everyone who ever read or reviewed this story. Remember kids, it's Wingardium LeviOsa, not LevioSA**

**- Mike**


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